Overview

Maritime archaeological archives within the UK often face an uncertain fate. Some are deposited in public repositories, while others are dispersed, are deteriorating, remain uninterpreted and uncurated, are sold or sometimes abandoned. The net result puts elements of the nationally important cultural heritage resource, which tells the story of human interaction with the sea, out of reach for researchers, educators and the public as a whole. Research to understand the nature and scale of the problems faced by maritime archaeological archives is presented within this volume. Subjects covered include a review of coastal museums and their approach to maritime archaeological archives and presentation of the results of an extensive survey which sought to discover where archives are held, their composition and issues of access ownership and storage. Further in-depth consideration of the maritime archaeological archive backlog within England has identified where incomplete or low levels of analysis and publication are hampering access to past investigations and impacting on the development of the discipline. Maritime archaeological archives provide challenges for museums, archaeological, heritage management and special interest groups involved in their creation and management. The various regulatory regimes and development frameworks impacting their production, curation and deposition are examined and situations where work on sites falls outside of any management processes identified. Issues related to roles and responsibilities for the overseeing of archive flow from seabed to repository are scrutinised along with a range of systemic and practical issues which need to be addressed to ensure a more positive future for these significant archives.

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9781407315669

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Reviews

'...an impressive resource...if you are interested in a particular wreck, or wreck sites in a certain region or from a specific period, this is your one-stop introduction...an essential guide for the expanding armies of citizen scientists, university researchers, sports divers, or nautical archaeologists (or indeed any combination of the above) with a serious interest in our maritime heritage.' Gustav Milne, Current Archaeology, Issue 330, September 2017

Author Information

Julie Satchell is the Head of Research at the Maritime Archaeology Trust. She develops the research programme, which includes a range of investigations within the underwater, intertidal and near shore zones, in addition to strategic studies. Julie has been working to increase understanding of the UK's maritime archaeological archives for over a decade, which has culminated in the publication of this volume.

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