Protocol Newsletter

Issue 9, Spring 2015

Renewing the Past

Prepared by

wessex
archaeology

Protecting our Heritage

Welcome to Issue 9 of Renewing the Past, the newsletter of the
Offshore Renewables Protocol for reporting Archaeologcial
Discoveries (ORPAD)
The Protocol, which is funded by The Crown
Estate, has just completed its fourth year
providing a safety-net for archaeology found
during work on offshore wind farm developments.
This year 29 reports have been received through
the scheme, a drop from last years high of 106.
There are several potential reasons for this
many of the finds reported so far have been
discovered during either benthic trawls or
anomaly assessments. As work progresses to
further phases of development and construction
activity on site changes, there may be less
potential for developers to find archaeological
material from the seabed. There is also potentially
a cessation or slowing of work as new schemes
and phases are put on hold until the results of the
2015 election are known. In addition some
developments use their own scheme-specific
protocols, which is permissible as long as they
are effective and the developer can demonstrate
that adequate training and support in the use of
the protocol has been provided to their teams.
Regardless of the number of reports received, the
ORPAD continues to provide a free-at-the-pointof-use resource for developers to protect
heritage, and reinforce their commitment to
environmental stewardship and corporate social
responsibility during work on site.

Top: London Array (Courtesy of Jason Hawkes);

middle: chain from the seabed (WA); bottom: TOW
(Courtesy of Peter Barker)

If you are unsure about how the Protocol operates, how to report finds or
how to implement the scheme for your site, contact us at
protocol@wessexarch.co.uk or visit the ORPAD website
www.wessexarch.co.uk/projects/marine/tcerenewables

Whats going on with all the peat?

A significant quantity of the reports handled by ORPAD relate to
peat partially decomposed organic materials that hold evidence
of past landscapes and human interaction with them.

All samples that are assessed as having potential are

being stored at Wessex Archaeologys offices in secure
conditions cool, wet, dark to prevent degradation and
the growth of algae or mould that can impact the remains.
When wind farm schemes move to the next phase of
development, our specialists will compare the spatial data
from the samples with the data we already have, to see
how much is known about a site and what knowledge
gaps the stored samples have the capacity to fill.

Contractors have supplied samples of the peat found

during work on offshore schemes to Wessex Archaeology,
along with the relevant reporting forms. This is favourable
as archaeologists can only study environmental remains
fully if they are here in the laboratory.
Our environmental specialists have just completed
assessment of all of the material currently reported
through the scheme and at this stage it is being assessed
for potential. This means that we are assessing whether
each sample has the potential to tell us about the past
environment of that area:

At that stage, if the samples reported through the Protocol

relate to an area about which little is known, or from an
area where previous investigations suggest significant
discoveries could be made, we will re-open the samples
and conduct a more complete analysis that might include,
for example, radiocarbon dating.

Could it contain palaeoenvironmental material that will

inform us about the past?
Is it from a relatively secure context? (As opposed to
having been bumping around on the seabed, meaning
that it is likely that it has been recovered a distance from
where it originally formed).

Reports of peat or other fine-grained sediments that

contain worked flint, charcoal or bone are potentially very
significant and so are classified under the Protocol as
being of high potential. Those that dont contain artefacts
are still important as they can provide crucial evidence of
what the environment was like during the Palaeolithic or
Old Stone Age (1 million 10,500 years ago) or the
Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) that followed.

Are any plant remains, artefacts or any other types of

materials visible on the surface?
Could it yield further evidence about the past through
preserved mollusc, insect, pollen, ostracod and
diatom remains?

Learn more by booking an awareness visit

or find out more about the Protocol by
contacting the Implementation Service on
01722 326867 or email
protocol@wessexarch.co.uk

What marine animal burrowing is present, and what are

the implications of that for the usefulness and
preservation of the sample?

Archaeology and Anomalies

Archaeology is the study of material culture and physical remains,
including sites, artefacts and environmental material, to further our
knowledge of human prehistory and history.
Developers of offshore wind farms
have the unique opportunity and
capacity to explore the seabed in
ways that havent been financially
viable or practicable previously, to
access heritage in some of the
hardest to reach places in UK
territorial waters and beyond. As it is
essential for the seabed to be
assessed for any anomaly that could
potentially represent unexploded
ordnance, for the safety of those
working on and around the site,
techniques such as extensive
geophysical survey, followed by
diver and Remote Operated Vehicle
(ROV) ground-truthing of the results,
are routinely employed ahead of
development.
Collaboration with archaeological
consultants means that the
information gained through these
surveys can be cost-effectively
assessed to enhance the
archaeological record. Sites or finds
that have potential significance to
archaeology can also then be
reported through ORPAD.
Finds recovered during benthic
trawls ahead of wind farm
development also have great
potential to inform us about the
heritage of the offshore zone, as the
find on the next page shows.

Top: Golliath & Flintstone Walney (Courtesy of

DEME Group); middle: Palaeolithic handaxes;
bottom: mammoth tusk found during dredging

Recent Find
This find has been reported through ORPAD
and it is clearly the leather upper of a shoe.
Holes are visible on the lower edge where it
would have been stitched or riveted to the
sole. No other features such as lace eyelets
survive. Quita Mould, an expert in
archaeological leather, provided an initial
assessment based on images of the find and
this example is likely to be in the region of 150
years old. It has survived due to the anaerobic
(meaning oxygen-deprived) conditions of the
seabed. This type of preservation is incredibly
rare on land-based archaeological sites,
unless there is a particularly high water table,
and finds like this one from the offshore zone
are crucial to our understanding of the past.

Top: View from top of shoe leather; middle: the stiching holes;
bottom: view of the underside of the shoe leather.

Multi-image photogrammetry is a
technique used to record objects and
sites in a cost-effective manner,
utilising recent advances in computing
software to produce results that are
similar to those of laser scanning, but
with much lower overheads. It can be
applied to aerial and terrestrial
topography, historic building recording,
underwater wreck survey and
artefacts. The leather shoe upper
reported through ORPAD has been
recorded using photogrammetric
techniques explore it in three
dimensions here at
http://tinyurl.com/kccf8ro
Photogrammetric 3D reconstruction of the shoe leather

Dogger Bank Creyke Beck

This site, which will eventually provide power for 2 million
homes, was extensively investigated prior to the application
for consent. This included archaeological investigation,
conducted by Wessex Archaeology on behalf of Forewind.
Congratulations to Forewind on the consenting of
Dogger Bank Creyke Beck.
The development of offshore wind farms can impact
archaeology in two ways: firstly directly due to
disturbance during development (be that benthic trawls
at the pre-consent stage or, for example, the impact of
the installation of turbines) and secondly by indirect
changes arising from the development, including
increased scour that can bury or reveal remains on
the seabed.
Wessex Archaeology recommended for Creyke Beck,
and Forewind supports the recommendations, that
100 m Archaeological Exclusion Zones (AEZs) be
placed around a number of known wrecks. These were
either recorded by the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO)
and recognised on geophysical survey, recorded by the
UKHO and not seen on survey, or seen on survey but
absent from UKHO records. These sites lie both within
the tranches defined offshore for turbine installation,
and within the cable export corridor. Micrositing of
seabed impacts was also suggested where suspected
sites of archaeological potential were recognised on
geophysical survey. As these potential sites are not
confirmed to be related to human activity, and might in
fact be natural in origin, AEZs were not necessary for
these anomalies.
The assessment also covered the intertidal area where
the cable route makes landfall and identified 6 extant
features, all dating to the Second World War, that will
be protected during construction activities on land.
In addition, the mitigation recommended the
implementation of a Protocol during installation work
offshore, and ORPAD will be adopted for the project's
development. Awareness training will be arranged for
staff and contractors (available free from Wessex
Archaeology) and finds recovered during work on the
scheme will be reported through the Protocol.
Creyke Beck is the largest renewable energy
development yet to receive consent in the UK and will
provide significant employment opportunities in the
north-east. As work begins on the installation, the
ORPAD team will be on hand to support the
development and protect any material relating to our
past that is found during work on site.

Computer-generated images of Dogger Bank courtesy of Forewind

How can I implement the

Protocol for my development?
Familiarise yourself with the Protocol
it is available online at the website address
found below.
Raise awareness amongst your staff and
amongst contractors working on your behalf.
Book awareness training (which is funded by
The Crown Estate) to inform everyone who may
come into contact with archaeology of their next
steps to report a find.
Circulate this newsletter amongst everyone
involved in your development to raise
awareness.

Include awareness packs (available from

Wessex Archaeology) in the documentation
given to staff and crew working offshore. Include
a copy of the Protocol document, a reporting
form and the contact details of the
Implementation Service.
All of the materials discussed here are available
online at the website address below, or by
contacting the Implementation Service.
The Implementation Service will be happy to
assist you with all of the above tasks. Email
protocol@wessexarch.co.uk
or telephone 01722 326 867

www.wessexarch.co.uk/projects/marine/tcerenewables/documents

London
The Crown Estate
16 New Burlington Place
London W1S 2HX
020 7851 5000
Edinburgh
The Crown Estate
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Edinburgh EH4 3BJ
0131 260 6070
www.thecrownestate.co.uk
@TheCrown Estate

wessex
archaeology
Registered Head Office
Wessex Archaeology Limited
Portway House
Old Sarum Park
Salisbury SP4 6EB
01722 326867
www.wessexarch.co.uk