Underwater artefacts including cannon on England’s Protected Wreck Sites are becoming “too hot to handle” – that’s the message Historic England (HE) wants to send to scuba-diving ”heritage criminals” as it begins employing new forensic-marking technology to curb their activities.
As part of the project, maritime archaeologists spent six days in September diving to research the 17th-century Dutch warship Klein Hollandia 32m deep off the Sussex coast, and trialling the product designed to make wreck artefacts traceable.
It was damage to this wreck-site, reported by Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS) divers in 2021, that led HE and the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE) to support further investigation while working towards bringing in traceability at the earliest opportunity.
HE contractor MSDS Marine had already been working since 2016 to develop the product, in the form of a solution similar to the type used to mark at-risk lead on church roofs. The announcement that it is now in use under water was timed to coincide with events around the 50th anniversary of the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973.
Unlawful lifting
England’s 57 Protected Wreck Sites are accorded that status on HE’s recommendation, based on its rating of their historic and archaeological importance. Only HE-licensed divers can dive and monitor the wrecks, the contents of which are protected by law, and HE can provide grant funding for projects to secure their preservation.
It works with the Police, Coastguard and Receiver of Wreck, Marine Management Organisation and Border Force as well as volunteer divers and others at sea to monitor wreck-sites for signs of illegal salvage. The new development is part of its Heritage Watch scheme, which aims to deter thieves and encourage the public to help protect their local heritage.
“This will act as a clear deterrent to those looking to unlawfully lift and remove historic material from Protected Wreck Sites,” said HE’s head of heritage crime strategy Mark Harrison. “If someone breaks the law and removes any property, the new markings will give police the ability to link the offender to the crime scene and implement criminal proceedings.”
“A game-changer for maritime archaeology,” was how MSDS heritage & systems manager Alison James described the project. “2023 is the 50th anniversary of the legislation that enables the protection of wreck sites and it seems completely fitting that this product has finally been deployed to help protect them for the next 50!” she said.
Sinking of the Klein Hollandia
The Admiralty of Rotterdam’s Klein Hollandia was built in 1654 and saw action in all the major battles of the second Anglo-Dutch war from 1665 to 1667. The ship was boarded in 1672 during an attack on a Dutch convoy, so both English and Dutch sailors were onboard went the ship sank.
Though referred to as “the Unknown Wreck off Eastbourne” after its discovery by dive-skipper David Ronnan in 2019, the site was considered so important that it was granted the highest level of protection that same year. The mystery surrounding its identity was solved earlier this year, as reported on Divernet.
The wreck is described as in “remarkable” condition and significant because remains of pre-1700 ships are rare, and there is little documentary evidence of how Dutch warships were built and modified over their lifetime.
NAS divers have undertaken 282 dives on the site, but the September dives centred on gathering photographic evidence to research surviving features that include an unusual double layer of well-preserved oak planking on the hull as well as possibly two additional layers of planking made from coniferous wood.
“We are very happy that the Klein Hollandia was chosen for the forensic-marking project,” said Mark Beattie Edwards, licensee of the wreck and CEO of the NAS. “Being so far offshore, it is vulnerable to illegal visits and recoveries. This new technology will give us piece of mind.”
Also on Divernet: Weapons & coins: video expands Rooswijk story, Dunkirk wrecks project sets up 2024 dives, X-ray grant lights up wreck investigators, Virtual tour of Rooswijk released, Divers find smuggled coins on Rooswijk
Idiotic,just bring to surface and show to public
Alot of this could be put in museums, if its war grave fair enough ,but alot things could be good for everyone to see.