RAPID ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE SURVEYING AND EVALUATION

test and develop rapid, quantitative, remote (geophysical) sensing techniques for the enhanced investigation of maritime archaeological sites in sensitive aggregate extraction areas. Furthermore, the project attempted to improve temporal and environmental assessment methods for sites and areas of key archaeological significance. The project addressed issues of direct relevance to the aggregate industry, to archaeological curators, and to academia. The work complemented Round 1 ALSF funded projects administered by EH and Round 2 projects by Wessex Archaeology; and the University of Southampton. The project involved analysis of historical data sets, and the construction of a test site in Plymouth Sound to enable development of protocols to maximise the potential of geophysical techniques in monitoring marine archaeological sites. Following this background work, methodologies for the enhanced use of multibeam sonar with a spar-buoy, deep-tow arrangement were tested. The resulting increased spatial resolution obtained for data over wreck sites, together with enhanced rendition of the geophysical data, provides both a new level of investigation and also a new forum for visualisation of submerged archaeology. Both of these achievements are of immediate relevance to the offshore aggregate industry and th