IFA Maritime Affairs Group Submission to the All-Party Parliamentary Archaeology Group Request for Information on the Current State of Archaeology in the United Kingdom

The Marine Historic Environment

The UK has a long and proud maritime past with one of the world's richest marine historic environments (UKMHE). This is the least understood and least well managed of the UK's historic environments and subject to ongoing erosion from both human and natural process. It should be acknowledged that the UKMHE is part of an international maritime landscape and contains sites that also form part of the archaeological record lie within the marine historic environments of other nations and in international waters.

Strategy for Research & Management

There is no national strategy for the research and management of the UKMHE, and no requirement for the inclusion of marine and coastal sites within SMR's. Only a handful of sites are recorded to terrestrial standards and little is understood about the resource in anything but the most general terms. The severely limited available financial resources are tied to the PoW Act 1973, which deals only with shipwrecks and no other site type.

Legislation

The legislative framework surrounding the UKMHE is poorly constructed and in need of a fundamental overhaul, including funding for its study and management. National Heritage Bill Many hopes are currently pinned on the above, but should that fail there will be urgent need to sort out the transfer of responsibility for the UKMHE in England to English Heritage. It is important that the funding of all the national heritage bodies is set at a level that ensures that they are able to fully carry out their responsibilities with regard to the UKMHE.

Development of a Profession

The specialist skills and experience needed to undertake marine archaeology are vested in a small number of individuals. These skills can only be gained by a combination of training and experience. The current high cost of training and low level of available work for newcomers is insufficient to provide a suitable level of experience or the security needed to keep them within a discipline where the benefits are intellectual rather than financial.

MAG 13/1/2002