500 kHz sonograph of the Oregon wreck site, Northern Ireland. The remains of Oregon (1946) lie in gullies in Silurian greywackes off Wilson’s Point in Belfast Lough. Divers are currently ground-truthing the geophysical data.

The Centre for Maritime Archaeology (CMA), housed in the Coastal Research Group at the University of Ulster, was formed in February 1999 and officially launched by the Receiver of Wreck on 26 April 1999. The Centre is jointly funded by the University and by the Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland). It is currently staffed by two lecturers, one in maritime archaeology and the second in marine archaeological geo-physics, as well as by three Research staff from DoE’s coastal archaeology unit. The Centre is engaged in a variety of research projects including: large-scale mapping of the seabed off Northern Ireland using a variety of geophysical and marine survey techniques; an ongoing foreshore survey of Strangford Lough, Co. Down; and a maritime landscape study of Bantry Bay, West Cork. Excavation on a number of wreck sites, including La Surveillante, a French frigate scuttled in 1797, are also central to the research programme.

The La Surveillante research project in Bantry Bay is unique in Irish archaeology in that it draws together for a the first time a truly multi-disciplinary group, combining researchers from various backgrounds, including maritime archaeology, marine geophysics, marine geology, and oceanography. Work to date has included imaging the wreck site using high-resolution geophysics, archaeological survey and excavation on the wreck, and environmental sampling within the site’s environs. This work has shown that the wreck is well preserved in a low energy environment, with portions of the lower part of the hull buried in two metres of sediment.

The Centre is well equipped with a suite of high-resolution marine geophysical equipment including side-scan sonar, magnetometer and a Chirp sub-bottom profiler, supported by a Geographical Positioning System (GPS) unit. The Centre is also equipped with diving and other marine survey gear.

A postgraduate diploma/MSc course in Maritime Archaeology will be run from October 1999 within the School of Environ-mental Studies at the University. The course is aimed at graduates from an archaeological and earth-science background who wish to pursue a career in this area, or who would like to develop their interest in this field.

Contact: Colin Breen;
Fax: 01265-324911;
E-mail: cp.breen@ulst.ac.uk;