Hastings to Purbeck

Maritime Archaeology Ltd and SeaZone have recently been commissioned by English Heritage to undertake a Historic Seascape Characterisation (HSC) of the south coast between Hastings and Purbeck, extending out to the limits of UK Controlled Waters.

Historic Seascape Characterisation presents an archaeological interpretation of the historic cultural dimension of our coasts and seas by identifying and mapping areas whose present character has been shaped by similar dominant cultural processes. After rigorous development and testing, a nationally-applicable method for characterising HSC using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was finalised and published by English Heritage in 2008. Maritime Archaeology Ltd and SeaZone will be using in-house expertise in maritime archaeology, GIS, HSC and database development to apply the methodology in close communication with English Heritage’s Characterisation Team.

More information about Historic Seascape Characterisation and a link to the National HSC Method Statement can be found here. We will be posting further information on our website in due course, and will be holding an HSC stakeholder seminar on completion of the project to disseminate the results.