Centre for Maritime Archaeology / University of Ulster

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+ 2009 publication award Ruth Plets has been 'Highly Commended' in the Keith Muckelroy Award (British Archaeological Awards) for her paper 'The use of a high-resolution 3D Chirp sub-bottom profiler for the reconstruction of the shallow water archaeological site of the Grace Dieu (1439), River Hamble, UK' published in the Journal of Archaeological Science in 2009. The Award is for the best published work from 2006 to 2009 in maritime, nautical or underwater archaeology. Abstract: The remains of Henry V’s ﬂagship, the Grace Dieu, currently lie buried within the inter-tidal sediments of the River Hamble (S. England). Previous archaeological investigations have been hindered by difﬁcult excavation conditions resulting in a poor understanding of the dimensions, shape and degradation state of the hull’s deeper structure. This study therefore aimed to image, characterize and reconstruct the buried remains of this vessel using a high-resolution 3D acoustic sub-bottom Chirp system with RTK-GPS positioning capability. The accurate navigation and high-resolution data that were acquired enabled the construction of a full 3D image of the site that not only identiﬁed the remains of the wooden hull, but also features buried within it. In addition, the degradation state of these buried wooden remains were investigated by calculating reﬂection coefﬁcients while a hypothetical larger reconstruction of the Grace Dieu’s hull was achieved, through the use of the ShipShape ship design software package. The results of this project demonstrate that (i) acoustic data can be used to successfully image buried wooden shipwrecks, (ii) artefacts are buried within the hull of the Grace Dieu, (iii) there is variation in the degradation state of the buried timbers, as calculated from the acoustic data, with the shell of the vessel being moderately well preserved, and (iv) the Grace Dieu was a very large ship for its time (possibly over 60 m long and 16 m wide). The outcomes of this research not only have considerable implications for the management and monitoring of submerged and buried archaeological sites but also for planning intrusive surveys, should they be required. download paper
+ 2009 publication award Kieran Westley has been 'Highly Commended' in the Keith Muckelroy Award (British Archaeological Awards) for his paper 'The Solutrean Atlantic Hypothesis: A view from the ocean' published in the Journal of the North Atlantic in 2008. The Award is for the best published work from 2006 to 2009 in maritime, nautical or underwater archaeology. Abstract: One current hypothesis for the Pleistocene peopling of the Americas invokes a dispersal by European hunter- gatherers along a biologically productive “corridor” situated on the edge of the sea-ice that ﬁlled the Atlantic Ocean during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). In this paper, we assert that critical paleoceanographic data underpinning this hypothesis has not yet been examined in sufﬁcient detail. To this end, we present data which show that the corridor may not have existed, and that, if it did, its suitability as a migration route is highly questionable. In addition to demonstrating that the hypothesized migration was unlikely, this highlights the importance of integrating paleoceanographic and archaeological data in studies of paleo-coastal societies. download paper
+ 2009 tall ships festival The CMA represented the University of Ulster at the Tall Ships festival, held in the centre of Belfast’s historic shipbuilding district from 13-15th August. The event was attended by some 800,000 people over four days as the city played host to over 40 vessels as well as a great variety of entertainment, markets and tours. As well as highlighting our research interests at home and abroad, CMA members undertook a diving exhibition, and displayed the latest diving and geophysical equipment.
+ 2009 the big dig The University of Ulster gave over 200 local schoolchildren the opportunity to explore untouched archaeology. ‘The Big University Dig’ was led by Dr Colin Breen and archaeologists from the CMA. Pupils from seven schools took part in a series of exciting archaeological excavations in the unexplored historic landscape of the University’s Coleraine grounds on Thursday, May 28. The children, aged 8 -10, found stone age material, a medieval fort, the ruins of a forgotten settlement, linen works and much more. The day-long event was supported by Ulster’s Cultural Development Support Scheme which aims to create new and extend existing outreach activity. The project, funded by Ulster’s Access Agreement Fund, represents a partnership between the University of Ulster, the Causeway Museum Service, Coleraine Borough Council, archaeologists from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency’s Built Heritage section and archaeologists from the Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork at QUB.
+ 2009 heritage council research grant Rory Quinn, Wes Forsythe, Ruth Plets, Kieran Westley and Sara Benetti were awarded Heritage Council funding of €80,000 for phase 2 of the project 'Archaeological Applications of the Joint Irish Bathymetric Survey (JIBS) data'. The JIBS survey, jointly conducted by the Irish Marine Institute and the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency, resulted in detailed mapping of the seabed using multi-beam sonar, from Inishowen in Co. Donegal to Rathlin Island in Co. Antrim. This unique data-set has revealed archaeological sites ranging from palaeo-shorelines and evidence of past environmental change to submerged settlement sites and shipwrecks. Co-PIs on the research project are Memorial University of Newfoundland, the Marine Institute and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency. more
+ 2009 new staff 2009 sees the CMA expanding into freshwater archaeology and consolidating in the areas of submerged landscapes and wreck site formation processes with the appointment of three new members of staff. Drs. Ruth Plets and Kieran Westley join from Memorial University of Newfoundland and Rory McNeary joins from the Discovery Programme in Dublin. Rory is Research Associate in Freshwater Archaeology, Ruth in Marine Geoarchaeology and Kieran in Maritime Archaeology. The new post in freshwater archaeology is primarily concerned with quantifying the resource, measuring the negative effects of orthodox river management and devising management strategies for it’s future. more
+ 2008 british archaeological award Thomas McErlean and Norman Crothers were awarded the Best Scholarly Archaeological Book Award in the 2008 British Archaeological Awards for 'Harnessing the Tides: The Early Medieval Tide Mills at Nendrum Monastery, Strangford Lough'. Popularly known as the archaeological Oscars, the awards are intended to celebrate and showcase the best in British Archaeology , whilst the Best Academic Book category is awarded for a publication which displays high quality research and which changes understanding of the past. The Nendrum book, which describes the excavation of the earliest tide mill so far discovered in the world (dated to AD 619) was chosen from a nominated long list of archaeological books published between 2006-2008. The tide mill discovery has attracted considerable international acclaim as a key site in the history of waterpower and human technology. This is the second time the Centre for Maritime Archaeology has won a British Archaeological Award. In 2004, 'Strangford Lough: An archaeological survey of the maritime cultural landscape' was the winner in the Maritime Archaeology category. more
+ 2008 SLAN newsletter issue 4 Issue 4 of the Submerged Landscapes Archaeological Network, including items on archaeological applications of the Joint Irish Bathymetric Survey, SLAN @ WAC-6, mapping submerged landscapes off northeast Newfoundland and drowning the myth of an Irish land-bridge. more
+ 2008 new survey/dive boat and 4-wheel drive The CMA have taken receipt of new field vehicles in the form of a Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) and Landrover Defender. The acquisition of the new vehicles was made possible through generous funding from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA). The 6.5m Stormforce RIB, constructed by Redbay boats in Cushendall, is powered by twin 90hp engines. It features a combined dGPS and echo-sounder, capable of carrying out survey work and deploying divers. The Landrover Defender 110 features a double cab for carrying dive cylinders separately and forward winch for recovering the boat from awkward landing places. Both vehicles mark a welcome improvement to our coastal and inshore survey capability.
+ 2008 heritage council research grant Rory Quinn and Wes Forsythe were awarded Heritage Council funding of €50,000 to assess archaeological applications of the Joint Irish Bathymetric Survey data. The JIBS survey, jointly conducted by the Irish Marine Institute and the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency, will result in detailed mapping of the seabed using multi-beam sonar, from Inishowen in Co. Donegal to Rathlin Island in Co. Antrim. This unique data-set has potential to reveal archaeological sites ranging from palaeo-shorelines and evidence of past environmental change to submerged settlement sites and shipwrecks. Co-PIs on the research project are the Marine Institute and Environment and Heritage Service, NI. more
+ 2008 tide mills of western europe The touring exhibition 'Tide Mills of Western Europe' opens at Down County Museum on 17th April 2008, featuring the early Medieval monastic Tide Mills at Nendrum Monastery, Strangford Lough. The exhibition, supported by the European Commission through its Culture 2000 Programme, has previously shown in the Salle Capitulaire de la Cour Mably (Bordeaux, France) and the Centro Cultural Casa Grande, in Ayamonte (Andalucia, Spain). Touring for almost 2 years, the exhibition has already received 45,000 visitors. more
+ 2008 heritage council research grant Wes Forsythe and Colin Breen were awarded Heritage Council funding to re-examine the coastal and laucustrine archaeology of west Donegal. The study involves surveys of marine and freshwater environments from Dungloe Bay to Ardara. Traditionally viewed as an area of sparse settlement and archaeological monuments, this project will re-examine its archaeological potential by focusing on coastal explotation, combined with known freshwater sites such as crannogs. more
+ 2008 seismic software grant Rory Quinn and Craig Brown were awarded a Kingdom Suite Software license under the University Gift program by Seismic Micro-Technology Inc. (USA) - valued at $190,863.45 over 3 years. KINGDOM is one of the most widely used software packages in geoscience research centres and in the hydrocarbon exploration industry around the world. The suite will be used for geoarchaeological research to characterise seismic signatures of submerged and buried shipwreck and landscape sites. more
+ 2008 SLAN newsletter issue 3 Issue 3 of the Submerged Landscapes Archaeological Network, including items on the Back Harbour, Newfoundland, new researchers, SLAN Roundtable 2008, Newfoundland’s coastal archaeological heritage, new publications and undergraduate student projects. more
+ 2008 historic scotland research grant Colin Breen and Wes Forsythe were awarded funding from Historic Scotland to conduct geophysical and archaeological surveys at Dunstaffanage Castle, an impressive 13th century monument located near Oban in Argyll. Associated with the MacDougall and later Campbell clans, it functioned as a major stronghold and controlled sea-routes along the south-west of Scotland. Geophysical survey and excavation work at the site aims to reveal more about local landscape use and activities in the vicnity of the monument. more
+ 2007 new book Harnessing the Tides: The Early Medieval Tide Mills at Nendrum Monastery, Strangford Lough (The Stationery Office, 2007) authored by Thomas McErlean and Norman Crothers. The monograph 'Harnessing the Tides' tells the story of the excavation of two Early Medieval monastic Tide Mills, one of which is the earliest recorded anywhere in the world. The publication additionally contextualises the history and archaeology of the important Early Medieval monastery of Nendrum, located on an island in Strangford Lough. more
+ 2007 british academy research grant Wes Forsythe was awarded British Academy funding to investigate the archaeology of post-medieval coastal settlement in Ulster. This project represents the preliminary phase of a long-term study into coastal settlement in the historic era. It will assess the nature and extent of remaining settlement (both nucleated and isolated forms) and landscape features associated with socio-economic practises. Survey and recording will be employed to identify a range of settlement forms and environments for future excavation work. more
+ 2007 new book An Archaeology of Southwest Ireland, 1570–1670 (Four Courts Press, 2007) authored by Colin Breen. The 17th century was a period of significant political and religious upheavals and was also a formative period in terms of landscape and settlement development throughout Ireland. This book examines Munster from an historical archaeology perspective. In particular the study sets the archaeological context of these developments against the historical background of plantation, Cromwellian intervention and economic expansion. more
+ 2007 smithsonian festival, washington dc The CMA represented Northern Ireland in the heart of the US capital with an exhibition demonstrating the impact of Northern Irish archaeology to international heritage. The UU team highlighted pioneering studies on shipwrecks and coastal sites, including the discovery of the earliest known tidal mill in the world at Strangford Lough. Over one million people visited the Smithsonian Festival over the Independence Day holiday on 04 July. more
+ 2007 new book Maritime Ireland: An Archaeology of Coastal Communities (Tempus, 2007) authored by Colin Breen and Aidan O' Sullivan from University College Dublin. Ireland is an island in the Atlantic Ocean yet, while archaeologists, historians and historical geographers have commonly accepted this island status, they have rarely explored the role of the sea in the development of the cultures and societies of this land. The authors explore the material evidence for maritime life and traditions of Ireland from 7000 BC to the present day. more
+ 2007 SLAN newsletter issue 2 Issue 2 of the Submerged Landscapes Archaeological Network, including items on the vulnerability of Ireland’s coastal archaeology, CAA 2007, research students and Coracle research fellowships. more
+ 2007 jas virtual issue on shipwrecks and harbours The Journal of Archaeological Science has released a series of three virtual issues which bring together articles from 'hot topics' in the area (DNA/Environmental History/Shipwrecks and Harbours). The special issues on 'Shipwrecks and Harbours' contains three full length papers from the CMA. more
+ 2007 coracle research fellowship Rory Quinn was awarded a two-year Coracle Fellowship with Memorial University of Newfoundland (Canada) to enhance and share technological knowledge about mapping and interpreting submerged archaeological sites off the coasts of Newfoundland and Ireland. Using marine geophysical techniques, researchers expect to find information on prehistoric human inhabitants of submerged coastlines. This work will involve a number of researchers at Memorial University and builds on the marine archeological work of Professors Trevor Bell and Priscilla Renouf of MUN. more
+ 2007 SLAN newsletter issue 1 Issue 1 of the Submerged Landscapes Archaeological Network, including an item on the palaeogeographic reconstruction of Hamilton Sound, between Fogo Island and mainland Newfoundland, about 10,000 years ago, when sea-level was 17m lower than at present. more
+ 2007 special issue of historical archaeology Special issue of the journal Historical Archaeology on 'Maritime Archaeology in Ireland' edited by Brian Williams. The 2007 fall issue (Volume 43, No. 3) is resultant from a session on Irish maritime archaeology at the SHA conference in Quebec in 2000, and includes seven full-length papers from the CMA. more
+ 2006 fellows of the society of antiquaries Colin Breen and Thomas McErlean have been admitted as Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries (FSA) of London. The Society’s 2,500 Fellows include many distinguished archaeologists and art and architectural historians holding positions of responsibility across the cultural heritage. The Fellowship is international in its reach and its interests are inclusive of all aspects of the material past. To be elected persons shall be 'excelling in the knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other nations' and be 'desirous to promote the honour, business and emoluments of the Society'. more
+ 2006 submerged landscapes archaeological network The Submerged Landscapes Archaeological Network (SLAN) is an international consortium of researchers from universities and government agencies in Ireland and Newfoundland with the aim of providing an understanding of Ireland's and Newfoundland's submerged archaeological landscapes. Recent coastal, archaeological and palaeogeographical studies have established that, since the last Ice Age, significant sea-level rise has submerged ancient European and North American coastlines. Important technological developments in marine geophysics and geodynamic modelling have, for the first time, created an opportunity to predict, locate and precisely map the locations of these ancient coastlines. more
+ 2005 ralph brown expedition award Colin Breen received the 2005 Ralph Brown Expedition Award from the Royal Geographical Socity to conduct an integrated marine survey of the Bagamoyo / Zanzibar Channel, Tanzania. This project involved a multi-disciplinary marine survey of the coastal zone, waters and seabed of the channel between Zanzibar and Bagamoyo on the Tanzanian coast. A research partnership between the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland and a number of agencies within Tanzania and Zanzibar was established. The research was the first of its kind in this area and contributed significantly to understanding of landscape development, marine biodiversity and cultural heritage in the study area. more
+ 2005 new book The Gaelic Lordship of the O'Sullivan Beare (Four Courts Press, 2005) authored by Colin Breen. This book examines the history and archaeology of the O'Sullivan Beare lordship in West Cork. The sept dominated this area for much of the late medieval period following the displacement of an Anglo-Norman presence in the upper end of Bantry Bay in the thirteenth century. This was a Gaelic maritime lordship with an economic focus on fishery resources and trade and communications with continental fishing fleets. more
+ 2004 british archaeological award Strangford Lough: An Archaeological Survey of the Maritime Cultural Landscape. (Blackstaff Press Ltd., 2002) authored by Thomas McErlean, Rosemary McConkey and Wes Forsythe was winner of the Keith Muckelroy Award in the 2004 British Archaeological Awards. The Keith Muckelroy award is awarded biennially for the best published work in the preceding two years covering British maritime, nautical or underwater archaeology. Entries are eligible if they address work in Britain, Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey or British territorial waters. The award is given for work that best reflects the pioneering ideas and scholarly standards of Keith Muckelroy. more
+ 2004 new book Boats and Shipwrecks of Ireland: An Archaeology (Stroud, 2004) authored by Colin Breen and Wes Forsythe. This book highlights some of the thousands of sunken vessels that lie beneath the coastal waters of the island. Co-author Dr Colin Breen said: “The coastal waters around the island of Ireland were witness to a millennia of seafaring activity over the years and it is estimated that there are more than 13,000 wrecks around it shores. People appear to have first arrived in Ireland by boat from Britain 9,000 years ago and new archaeological evidence is now emerging of the routes they took and the type of vessels they came in. Dugout canoes and vessels covered in animal skins were used to make these crossings and were subsequently used for trading and fishing". more
+ 2002 new book Strangford Lough: An Archaeological Survey of the Maritime Cultural Landscape (Blackstaff Press Ltd., 2002) authored by Thomas McErlean, Rosemary McConkey and Wes Forsythe. Strangford Lough in County Down has been officially designated an Area of Outstanding Beauty. For thousands of years, however, its appeal was much more practical. Its vast natural harbour provided refuge for generations of seafarers seeking shelter from the notoriously dangerous Irish Sea and the fertility of its land and the richness of its wildlife proved a strong attraction for human settlement. From 1995 to 2000 the CMA, conscious that the shore and seabed of the Lough were hiding many more secrets, undertook a survey of the maritime cultural landscape. The results of the survey, published here, challenge our preconceptions about the knowledge and skills of our ancestors - excavations at Nendrum, for instance, revealed a seventh-century tidal corn-mill that demonstrated a previously unknown level of engineering sophistication.
+ 2001 new book Integrated Marine Investigations on the Historic Shipwreck La Surveillante: Lost Bantry Bay, Ireland 1797 authored by Colin Breen, Kevin Barton, Clare Callaghan, Wes Forsythe, Rory Quinn, Shane Rooney, Ian Oxley, Ciara Herron and Andy Wheeler (ISBN 1859231535). The French Frigate La Surveillante was wrecked in Bantry Bay (Co. Cork) following a failed invasion attempt of Ireland in December 1976. The wreck is currently a protected monument under the guardianship of Duchas the Heritage Service. This volume collates the results of a programme of marine archaeological investigations on the site, offering a potential model for future shipwreck research in Ireland and suggests strategies for the site's protection.