NAS 2011 Annual Conference – 5th November 2011
The NAS 2011 annual conference was yet another success where members attended from around the world to discuss research, review the archaeological activities of members and exchange ideas on encouraging access to our shared heritage
The ninth Annual adopt a wreck award was presented to the Weymouth Lunar Society for their work on the “lost Torpedoes of Weymouth and Portland”. Attendants were able to listen and see the stunning results 15 torpedoes lost in Weymouth Bay.
Friday 4th November 2011 – Informal drinks
NAS members and friends met in the Royal Maritime Club near the Hard for informal drinks and a chance to catch up before the conference day.
Saturday 5th November 2011 – Conference Day
Hosted by Dr Colin Martin (NAS Vice President), the NAS conference was fortunate enough to have a range of excellent speakers including:
Ginge Crook – Opening a closed site – Coronation 1685
The Coronation was lost in 1691 and designated in 1985 since that time diving has been very restricted and as attracted media attention in the early 2000's through illegal diving of the site. I took over as licensee in 2008 with the intention of opening the site to as many divers as possible so as to share the history of the site with those whom were not within a specific privileged group. The opening of the site has been successful and the Diver Trail has been a fantastic addition in enabling divers to fully appreciate the site. Support from EH, NAS and local sponsorship has been key to ensuring the success of the project.
Keith Clark – From Pirate to Palace, the Voyage of an NAS Volunteer
The NAS recently received the Archaeology Training Forum Award for 2011, but how does their training impact the keen amateur nautical archaeologist? Once some basic training has been undertaken what kind of practical projects can a volunteer hope to undertake? By investigating a number of projects undertaken by a volunteer the relevance of the NAS preparation will be highlighted, hopefully giving encouragement to those starting their own archaeological journey. The presentation will show, through practical examples, how an old school wreck diver (pirate) was converted to a useful avocational underwater archaeologist whose contributions eventually lead to a meeting with Prince Philip at Buckingham Palace.
Stefan Wessman– The Nord Stream AG - pipeline in the Finnish EEZ
The Nord Stream AG natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea is passing through Finland’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) from east to west at a length of 375 kilometres. As part of the planning process for the project, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was carried out. Included in the EIA was an evaluation of the project’s impact on Cultural Heritage sites. In Finland, the Management, Protection and Research of Cultural Heritage are handled by the National Board of Antiquities (NBA). From 2005 to 2009 several large-scale geophysical investigations were made as part of the planning process for the natural gas pipeline. Based on the survey materials, targets were chosen for inspection by ROV. The inspected targets were evaluated from a culture heritage point of view and an impact assessment for each target was carried out. As a result of the investigations close to fifty new wrecks were discovered.
Mark James – The New Forest Coastal Heritage Project
Between 2009 and 2011 the New Forest National Park Authority undertook a Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment of the 86km of coastline around the New Forest, the boundary for the survey extended from Redbridge, North of Southampton Water to the Hampshire/Dorset border, inland by 1.5km and offshore by 6nm. To engage and enthuse residents of the Forest and surrounding areas the project fieldwork was very volunteer based with a large Education & Outreach component. The project was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage, Exxon Mobil, Hampshire County Council and the Crown Estate. This presentation examines the reasons behind the project, some of the key achievements and the legacy. The presentation will include a showing of Shipwrecks of the Western Solent a short film (20 mins) produced for the project by double Emmy Award winning cameraman Michael Pitts. The film showcases some of the work that was undertaken on and under the water during the project and investigates five very different shipwrecks off the coast of the New Forest.
Tom Lenaerts and Jeroen Vermeersch – The cogs from Doel (Belgium)
During the construction of a new dock in the harbour of Antwerp in 2000, the remains of a well preserved shipwreck came to light. Maritime archaeologists from the former NISA identified the remains as a cog. Only two years later and 50 m further from the first wreck, remains of a second cog were found. Due to the limited time on site, the ship was disassembled and all timbers were numbered and stored in containers until research on both ships could start. In the summer of 2010 the multidisciplinary study on the timbers could finally begin. By the end of 2013 the research on the remains should be finished. Parallel to this research, the conservation phase is now getting started. This will result into a reassembly of the wrecks and a permanent exhibition of both ships.
Chris Dobbs – Maritime museums in the 21st century, from China to Portsmouth
This lecture will compare three extremely exciting but extremely different museums. The three projects each chose a radically different way of preserving and presenting the underwater cultural heritage to the world. In contrast to the Mary Rose that was excavate first and then raised, the Nan Hai wreck was raised from the seabed complete with all its contents and will be excavated underwater in a new museum that opened in December 2009.
The Baiheliang Underwater Museum in Fuling, presents a series of carvings and inscriptions dating back over 1,200 years. These carvings record the water levels of the Yangtze River, and were due to be submerged by the rising water levels of the Three Gorges Dam. To preserve and present them in situ, the Chinese have built a museum with underwater viewing galleries allowing the public to see them although they are now over 40 metres below the water.
Finally, Chris updated delegates on the new Mary Rose museum due to open by this time next year.
Exhibitors
The NAS were happy to be joined by a number of organisations as part of the Exhibition Display that ran in conjunction with the Conference including:
- English Heritage
- The Big Anchor Project
- The Mary Rose
- Southsea Sub Aqua Club
- New Forest National Trust
- Weymouth LUNAR Society
- Friends of Purton
- International Guild of Knot Tiers
- Promare
- 3H
- Wiley
- NASAC
Saturday 5th November – Beer and Skittles
After the conference the NAS hosted yet another smashing beer and skittles session at the Royal Maritime Club. The event gave members the chance to unwind and socialise with fellow keen archaeologists after a fun and educationally packed conference day. Mike Williams with the assistance of Ash Black retained his glory by winning the 2011 skittle competition.
Sunday 6th November 2011 – Excursions
The day following the NAS conference, 15 members chose to visit, the “Diving Museum” in Gosport and 18 lucky people got the chance to have exclusive tour of the “Construction site of the new Mary Rose Museum”.
Our Sponsors
The NAS 2011 Annual Conference was supported by:
  
   
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