1. Introduction

1.1. Document Overview

  1. This Marine Archaeology Technical Report provides the archaeological baseline information and a review of site-specific data for the Ossian Array (hereafter referred to as ‘the Array’).
  2. The objectives of this report are to:
  • Summarise the potential for submerged prehistoric archaeology to be encountered within the marine archaeology study area ( Figure 2.1   Open ▸ ).
  • Identify known maritime and aviation sites within the marine archaeology study area from available desktop data sources.
  • Based on the maritime history of the wider region, assess the potential for the existence of unknown sites and materials within the limits of the marine archaeology study area.
  • Present site-specific geophysical data from surveys across the site boundary (within which the Array will be located), identify anomalies of archaeological interest and characterise these anomalies integrating the results of the site-specific data, with the findings of the desk-based work described above.
  • Review available site-specific geophysical data for deposits of archaeological and palaeoenvironmental interest and integrate the results with the findings of the desktop review.

2. Legislation, Policy and Guidance

2.1. Overview

  1. This section sets out the legislation, policy, guidance and any development plans relevant to marine archaeology in the context of offshore renewable energy development to provide an appropriate context for the baseline assessment.
  2. With regard to marine licensing, Scottish territorial waters (STW) are classed as the area of sea within 12 nautical miles (nm) of the territorial coastline. Scottish offshore waters include any area of sea beyond 12 nm, that is within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the United Kingdom (UK) sector of the continental shelf (up to 200 nm).
  3. Beyond the UK’s territorial waters archaeology is generally subject to international legislation and policy, with two exceptions:
  • the Merchant Shipping Act 1995; and
  • the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.
  1. International policy and legislation to which marine archaeology is subject includes the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (United Nations, 1982), the European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage (Revised) (1992) (the Valletta Convention) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage 2001 (UNESCO, 2001).

Figure 2.1:
Array Location and Marine Archaeology Study Area

Figure 2.1: Array Location and Marine Archaeology Study Area

2.1.1. Methodology

                        Protection of Wrecks Act 1973

  1. Section 2 of the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 provides guidance on the protection for wrecks that are designated as dangerous due to their contents and is administered by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) through the Receiver of Wreck (RoW).

                        Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 (as amended)

  1. This primarily land-based Act may also be used to provide protection for underwater sites within the UK’s territorial waters. Scheduled Monuments and Areas of Archaeological Importance (AAIs) or their equivalent are afforded statutory protection by the Secretary of State, and consent is required for any major works. The Act is administered in Scotland by Historic Environment Scotland (HES), on behalf of Scottish Ministers.

                        Protection of Military Remains Act 1986

  1. The Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 makes it an offence to interfere with the wreckage of any crashed, sunken or stranded military aircraft or designated vessel, without a licence.  
  2. All crashed military aircraft receive automatic protection under this Act. Maritime vessels lost during military service are not automatically protected, although the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has powers to protect any vessel that was in military service when lost. There are two levels of protection offered by this Act:
  • Designation as a Protected Place: Protected Places include the remains of any aircraft which crashed while in military service or any vessel designated (by name, not location) which sank or stranded in military service after 04 August 1914. Although crashed military aircraft receive automatic status as a Protected Place, vessels need to be specifically designated by name. The location of the vessel does not need to be known for it to be designated as a Protected Place.
  • Designation as a Controlled Site: Controlled Sites are specifically designated areas which encompass the remains of military aircraft, or a vessel sunk or stranded in military service within the last 200 years. Diving operations for excavation or salvage are effectively prohibited on these sites without a specific licence granted by the Secretary of State in accordance with the provisions of the Act. Official guidance states that for preliminary explorations “there would be no objection to preliminary explorations around the wreck for identification purposes, providing it was not tampered with or disturbed in any way” (Ministry of Defence, 2018).

                        Merchant Shipping Act 1995

  1. This Act details the procedures for determining the ownership of maritime finds that turn out to be ‘wreck’ in the offshore, onshore, or the intertidal zone of UK territorial waters. ‘Wreck’ includes all craft, parts of these, their cargo or equipment. Section 236 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 stipulates that all wreck within the UK’s territorial waters (up to 12 nm) and any wreck landed in the UK from outside the UK’s territorial waters must be declared to the RoW who acts on behalf of the MCA in administering this section of the Act. If any maritime finds are brought onshore, the RoW must be notified, and the finds must be kept until the RoW determines ownership or requests that they be given to the RoW. This Act is administered by the MCA.
  2. All items which are raised from the seabed, regardless of age or importance, must be reported to the RoW who will act to settle questions of ownership and salvage.

                        Marine (Scotland) Act 2010

  1. The marine historic assets of national importance within STW are protected primarily by the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010. Part 5, Section 73 of this Act states that an area may be designated as an Historic Marine Protected Area (HMPA) if Scottish Ministers consider it desirable to preserve a marine historic asset which is located in the area.
  2. A marine historic asset is defined as:
  • a vessel, vehicle or aircraft (or part of);
  • the remains of a vessel, vehicle or aircraft (or part of);
  • an object contained in or formerly contained in a vessel, vehicle or aircraft, a building or other structure (or part of);
  • a cave or excavation; and
  • a deposit or artefact or any other thing which evidences previous human activity.
  1. The purpose of HMPAs is to preserve by law, marine historic assets of national importance. Permission under the Town and Country (Scotland) Planning Act 1997 or a Marine Licence (ML) under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (in waters 12 nm to 200 nm), or under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 (from Mean High Water Springs (MHWS) to 12 nm) may be required to carry out work inside an HMPA.
  2. Clear preservation objectives are provided for each HMPA and their boundaries are identified as an exclusion zone to activities that could lead to disturbance of the marine historic asset.
  3. In Scotland, the Marine Scotland Act 2010 has replaced Section 1 of the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973.

2.1.2. Policy

                        Marine Policy Statement 2011

  1. The UK Marine Policy Statement (MPS) sets out high level marine objectives for ensuring that marine resources are used in a sustainable way (UK Government, 2011).
  2. Section 2.6.6 of the MPS relates to the historic environment in marine planning and advises that heritage assets should be conserved through marine planning in a manner appropriate and proportionate to their significance. It advises that when considering the significance of a heritage asset and its setting, the marine plan authority should take into account the particular nature of the interest in the assets and the value they hold for current and future generations.
  3. Designated heritage assets in coastal/intertidal zones and territorial/offshore waters may include Scheduled Monuments, Protected Wreck Sites and sites designated under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986. Non-designated heritage assets of equivalent status should be considered under the same policy principles as designated heritage assets.
  4. Where the loss of the whole or material part of a heritage asset’s significance is justified, suitable mitigation measures should be put in place. Mitigation requirements should be based on advice from relevant regulators and advisors.

                        Scotland’s Marine Plan 2015

  1. The Scottish National Marine Plan (NMP) was published in 2015 and reviewed in 2018 and 2021 and sets out high level objectives for managing offshore development and advice for the preparation of future Regional Marine Plans (RMPs).
  2. General Policy 6 within the Scottish NMP relates to the historic environment and states that “Development and use of the marine environment should protect and, where appropriate, enhance heritage assets in a manner proportionate to their significance” (Scottish Government, 2015a).
  3. It identifies that designated heritage assets should be protected in situ within an appropriate setting, and that substantial loss or harm to designated assets should be exceptional and should only be permitted “if this is necessary to deliver social, economic or environmental benefits that outweigh the harm or loss” (Scottish Government, 2015a).
  4. It further identifies that non-designated heritage assets that meet designation criteria or make a positive contribution should also be protected in situ, wherever possible, and consideration given “to the potential for new discoveries of historic or archaeological interest to arise” (Scottish Government, 2015a).
  5. It outlines that proposals for development that may “affect the historic environment should provide information on the significance of known heritage assets and the potential for new discoveries to arise. They should demonstrate how any adverse impacts will be avoided, or if not possible, minimised and mitigated. Where it is not possible to minimise or mitigate impacts, the benefits of proceeding with the proposal should be clearly set out” (Scottish Government, 2015a).
  6. The Scottish NMP also states that “where the case for substantial change to heritage asset is accepted, marine decision-making authorities should require applicants to undertake suitable mitigating actions to record and advance understanding of the significance of the heritage asset before it is lost, in a manner proportionate to that significance” (Scottish Government, 2015a).

                        Scottish Regional Marine Plan

  1. The Scottish Marine Regions Order 2015 (Scottish Government, 2015b) established statutory Scottish Marine Regions (SMRs) up to the 12 nm limit. Assessment areas which consolidate the existing statutory SMRs with non-statutory Offshore Marine Regions (OMRs) which extend seaward from 12 nm to the continental shelf limits adjacent to Scotland. The Array lies within the Long Forties OMR as defined by this framework. In turn, the Long Forties OMR straddles the Forth and Tay and the North East SMRs. While there are no specific constraints within the Long Forties OMR, a subsequent onshore export cable corridor would be subject to specific policies regarding the management of any SMR.

2.1.3. Guidance

  1. There are a number of guidance documents that are relevant to marine archaeology in the context of offshore renewable development which have been considered in the production of this technical report. These include:
  • International:

–           UNESCO World Heritage Convention 1972;

–           United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982;

–           Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage (Revised) 1992 (Valletta Convention);

–           International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) Charter on the Protection and Management of Underwater Cultural Heritage 1996 (Sofia Charter);

–           Code of Practice for Seabed Development (Joint Nautical Archaeology Policy Committee (JNAPC)) 2006; and

–           European Directive for Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) (2014/52/EU).

  • UK:

–           Historic Environment Guidance for the Offshore Renewable Energy Sector (COWRIE, 2007);

–           Conservation Principles Policies and Guidance for the Sustainable Management of the Historic Environment (English Heritage (now Historic England (HE)), 2008)

–           Offshore Geotechnical Investigations and Historic Environment Analysis: Guidance for the Renewable Energy Sector (Gribble and Leather, 2011);

–           Offshore Renewables Protocol for Archaeological Discoveries (The Crown Estate, 2014);

–           Code of Conduct (Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA), 2014a);

–           Standard and Guidance for Historic Environment Desk Based Assessment (CIfA, 2014b (updated 2020)); and

–           Archaeological Written Schemes of Investigation for Offshore Wind Farm Projects (The Crown Estate, 2021).

  • Scotland:

–           Making the Most of Scotland’s Seas (Scottish Government, 2010); and

–           Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (HES, 2020).