Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by English Heritage to undertake a project entitled ‘Wrecks on the Seabed: Assessment, Evaluation and Recording’. The project was supported by that part of the Aggregate Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF) distributed by English Heritage. The specific aim of this project was to provide industry, regulators and contractors with guidance on the archaeological assessment, evaluation and recording of wreck sites. ‘Assessment, evaluation and recording’ are taken to include various methods of archaeological investigation that are intended to improve the understanding, preservation and appreciation of the historic environment. The term ‘wreck site’ is taken to include the remains on the seabed of both watercraft and aircraft. As part of a variation of this project Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by English Heritage to undertake a geophysical survey of four designated historic wrecks (A1 submarine, Hazardous, Invincible and Mary Rose) which focussed on the development and testing of methodology for rapid in situ recording using geophysical techniques. The geophysical survey included the use of multibeam echosounder, magnetometer and sub bottom profiler. The survey was undertaken from the 12.5 m Aquastar survey vessel Emu Surveyor belonging to Emu Ltd between 11th and 26th June 2003. The geology and geophysics component of the data are archived at British Geological Survey (BGS) MEDIN Data Archive Centre (DAC) for Geology and Geophysics. Data were also provided to other archive centres as appropriate.
