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Rapid advances in geophysical techniques over the past decade have provided the maritime archaeological community with significant opportunities for re-defining the procedures for wreck-site mapping, evaluation and monitoring. The techniques which offer most potential for high-resolution survey are acoustic-based and include sidescan sonar, swath-bathymetry sonar and multibeam sonar. These techniques were tested on an artificial test-site in Plymouth Sound and over the wreck of the Stirling Castle. Results demonstrate that the techniques can provide the maritime archaeologist with the opportunity to rapidly and cost-effectively map and monitor small, centimetric changes on sites, with the potential for long-term monitoring and management.

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Rathlin Island, off the north coast of Ireland, has a history of settlement and seafaring from the Late Mesolithic period to the present day. The maritime Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) for Rathlin indicates many wrecking incidents. In 1999, a reconnaissance side-scan sonar survey confirmed the presence of 46 targets of possible archaeological potential around Rathlin Island. Thirteen of these anomalies were positively identified as shipwrecks. Of the remaining 33 targets, nine were dived on in order to ground-truth the geophysical data. A successful and rapid methodology of ground-truthing side-scan sonar data for archaeological purposes was developed. The results confirmed the presence of a Danforth Anchor at one site, while the remaining anomalies were identified as geological features. The results from the side-scan survey and diver-truthing exercise enhanced the existing maritime SMR. ᭧

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