HMS Victory 1774 Consultation
The Government is consulting on the options for the future of the wreck of HMS Victory 1744 – what do you think should happen to it?
As announced by Baroness Taylor last autumn, the Ministry of Defence and Department for Culture, Media and Sport have begun a public consultation on how best to manage the site of the historic wreck, now confirmed to be that of Admiral Balchin’s Victory which was lost with all hands in 1744, located in the English Channel by Odyssey Marine Exploration in February 2009.
The consultation text can be found here.
The Ministers’ Foreword to the document welcomes ‘the views of all with an interest in naval heritage, not just historians and maritime archaeology professionals but also of the wider public and all those concerned with Britain’s naval and maritime heritage. We need to decide how best to manage properly this significant find. We hope that however the site is managed in the future, her story will add to our knowledge of naval heritage of that period, and the Royal Navy’s role in the development of our culture as a maritime nation.
The consultation, which is supported by an assessment report and geophysical survey prepared by Wessex Archaeology, is seeking views on three proposed options for the site:
- Management of the wreck in situ (essentially, monitoring and site stabilisation where appropriate);
- Recovery of the wreck artefacts that are visible on the sea bed (including various bronze cannon) and management of the remainder of the site;
- A more extensive archaeological evaluation and excavation.
This is the first consultation of its kind on the future management of an historic wreck site and the CBA welcomes this opportunity to broaden the debate about the discovery and encourage wider public interest in the protection of marine heritage.
For previous coverage of this issue and CBA comment as it has unfolded, visit our previous news stories:
For up-to-date commentary on the issues affecting marine archaeology, visit our Current Issues section.
