Page 59 - TVH 2000 Anniversary Shipwreck Project

Recommendations for Further Work on Site Completion of the excavation started in trench 3 is recommended. We would like to find the extent of the collapsed contents outboard and try and ascertain the nature of the damage to the hull at this point. We still feel that a trench should be projected towards the west to ascertain the position and nature of the starboard side. Ideally this should avoid trenching through the bricks, but if the bricks are protecting the structure, at least it should be there beneath the bricks. In the absence of a handheld sub bottom profile survey, a trench through the bricks to the structure below and west is at least starting from a known archaeological feature. Several ROV searches should be built into the programme to include investigating the area where the bow should lie, following the projected line of the port side. ROV exploration in the area of the magnetometer contact should search for features suggestive of bow structure. The bricks should be followed to the south to see where and whether the cargo hold can be delineated. During these searches ground truthing of spot analysis of structural features from previous explorations should be undertaken in the keelson and galley areas. A hand-held sub-bottom profiler survey to reveal the nature and depth of buried features would be a valuable addition to any excavation programme. - 53 -