SeaZone Solutions - Marine Geographic Information Solutions from Instrument to Desktop

SeaZone and Maritime Archaeology Ltd (MA Ltd) have been commissioned by English Heritage to undertake the first application of the HSC method via the “England’s Historic Seascapes: Demonstrating the Method” Project. Financed by the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (ASLF), this project combines a demonstrative role with contributing the initial instalment of an eventual national HSC database to be maintained by English Heritage.

The marine environment is defined not only by the natural processes which shape the coastal, intertidal and marine zones, but also by past and present human activities which determine its historical character and archaeological significance.

Historic Seascape Characterisation (HSC) presents an archaeological interpretation of the historic cultural dimension of our coasts and seas to identify and map areas whose present character has been shaped by similar dominant cultural processes. In doing so, it complements a closely similar approach, Historic Landscape Characterisation (HLC), already widely implemented by English Heritage on land.

After rigorous development and testing, a nationally-applicable method for characterising England’s historic seascapes using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was published in 2008. The GIS mapping of historic seascape character can be interrogated in many different ways. It is supported by a series of text descriptions which can also be delivered to wider audiences as part of a non-GIS based multimedia resource.

The resulting product is designed to raise public awareness of the considerable pressures and changes already affecting our landscape perceptions and inform the management of our coasts and seas by offering an understanding of the past and current cultural processes that have shaped our perceptions of them.

HSC and HLC offer a stronger basis for shaping sustainable seascapes and landscapes for the future. In a broader sense too, its comprehensive coverage allows HSC to enrich our perspective on parts of the coast and sea which are familiar to us

Below are downloadable examples of sea & seabed characterisation. The area shown is on the North East coast of England, North Yorkshire to Tyneside.

Further Information

The project runs for 12 months from October 2008, with a Stakeholder Seminar planned for September 2009.

For expressions of interest, please contact SeaZone’s GIS/Heritage Consultant, Olivia Merritt, at;

Tel: +44 (0) 870 013 0607

Fax: +44 (0) 870 013 0608

Email: events@SeaZone.com

Web: www.SeaZone.com

More information can be found on the English Heritage Website:

www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.1292