The day to day administration of the 1973 Act in English waters is the responsibility of English Heritage (EH), although we have the following responsibilities relating to England and Northern Ireland:
- The designation, re-designation and de-designation of any wreck site considered to be of artistic, archaeological and historic importance
- The issuing of licences for those wishing to dive on any protected wreck within these waters.
Licences are granted on advice that the Secretary of State receives from both EH and the Advisory Committee on Historic Wreck Sites.
The Committee's members are drawn from a wide range of expertise including sports divers, archaeologists and academics. EH works with licensed divers to promote improved research.
We also work closely with The Receiver of Wreck, part of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, to prevent illicit trade in protected wreck items.
The recovery of all finds related to wrecks, even those that do not have legal protection, must be reported to the Receiver. The Receiver will then decide on their correct disposal and the finder may be entitled to a salvage award.
Full details of our colleagues’ work in Cadw, Historic Scotland and Department of the Environment, Northern Ireland (DoENI) regarding their maritime heritage can be found on their websites.
Making the System Better
In association with the Welsh Assembly Government, the Scottish Executive and the DoENI, we jointly published
The consultation period ended in July 2004. We had a total of 122 respondents.
We then set up two working groups:
The aim of the groups was to identify possible changes to the current system. These groups held their final meetings in March 2006 and have reported their recommendations to DCMS. Ministers will be considering these recommendations shortly.
Contacts:
Underwater Archaeology
DCMS
2-4 Cockspur St
London
SW1Y 5DH
Online feedback form
Ian Oxley
Head of Maritime Archaeology
English Heritage,
Fort Cumberland,
Fort Cumberland Road,
Eastney,
Portsmouth,
PO4 9LD
