Page 81 - Kennemerland VOC ship, 1664 - Published Reports

K. MUCKELROY: HISTORIC WRECK SITES
evidenced documentarily, but which has yet to be searched for.
5.Conclusions
In summary, there are six basic conclusions arising from this study which should be empha- sized. Firstly, there is the basic fact that there are several types of ‘intermediate’ site on which the remains are neither perfectly preserved, nor irredeemably smashed to pieces. While many examples of the latter type do exist, there are a number of ameliorating circumstances which can create a more favourable situation than first impressions would suggest. If a site on a rocky coast has a sufficient algae cover, and is exten- sively fissured, then there is a good chance that considerable quantities of archaeological materials will have survived, producing a site of Class 4. If, in addition, the site has a limited fetch and sea horizon, then some fragile organic remains may be anticipated; it may be a Class 3 site. If, in addition to these requirements, there is also an extensive area of sedimentary deposit covering at least a section of the sea-bed, as on the Dartmouth site (Adnams, 1974), then a Class 2 wreck may be anticipated. A complete coverage of mobile sediment on the sea-bed leads, of course, to the possibility of a Class 1 site. And this points to the second conclusion which needs t o be brought out; that the circumstances favourable t o the emergence of a Class 1 site are somewhat more complex than the simple conditions laid down in previous writings. On the one hand, despite the absence of any examples to date, there seems to be no reason why a classic Mediterranean-style wreck mound should not develop in British waters, involving the accre- tion of current-borne sediment around a wreck proud of the sea-bed. However, all the Class 1 sites listed above have apparently developed differently, through the remains sinking into yielding sediment soon after deposition, and in situations where that sediment is relatively stable. This latter condition is essential since any drastic sediment movement would destroy a site as effectively as any forces to be encoun- tered on the most exposed rocky coasts; this is what has been happening recently on the wreck in the South Edinburgh Channel. In sites inves- tigated to date, these favourable situations have all resulted from geographical circumstances, as
indicated in Table 1, but there seems to be no reason why deep water should not accord similar protection. To allow for this last cir- cumstance, as well as the possibility of Mediter- ranean-style wreck mound formation, the provisions of Table 1 should be qualified by the assertion that a site which accords with the first two criteria for a Class 1 site, but not with the remaining three, and which lies at a consider- able depth (say, below 20 m), will probably prove to have been well preserved. It should be noted here that consideration has been con- fined to coastal waters throughout, and that the state of wreck-sites beyond the Continental Shelf is a subject on which there is at present inadequate information.
The third conclusion to be emphasized is the importance for the survival characteristics of a site of the variety of forces acting on it, as reflected in the relatively high correlation between the survival of material and the extent of the sea horizon. Although the reasons why this should be so can readily be appreciated, the relative importance of this factor has not pre- viously been demonstrated so clearly. The fourth point to be made deals with the other side of the coin, and concerns the very low correlations achieved between several attributes and the survival characteristics, notably those connected with storm conditions, tidal currents and depth; in analysing any site, and the reasons for its preservation, there will have to be excep- tional reasons for citing any of these attributes. Fifthly, particular attention should be given to the special circumstances of those sites which lie in open water, and on which there is a possi- bility that the sea-bed distribution reflects the process of the wrecking of the ship. This con- sideration affects potential Class 3 or Class 4 sites, and results in them having a higher level of significance in their distributions than might otherwise be considered likely. Connected with this idea, of course, are the thoughts presented above on the way in which ships are wrecked. Sixthly, and lastly, I would assert most strongly that every report on a wreck site should include as a matter of course such environmental data as has been investigated in this paper, together with any additional special circumstances which appear to be relevant. That this has fre- quently not been the case hitherto is reprehen- sible and difficult to excuse; as long ago as
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