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Forgotten wrecks and sunken secrets revealed on your mobile phone!
In a project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund through the West Wight Landscape Partnership, researchers from the Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology have used the mobile phone application Wikitude to map eight underwater locations around the west coast of the Isle of Wight. The Augmented Reality software, which is free to download onto Smart Phones, allows people on the shore to use their Smart Phone to see where a shipwreck or submerged landscape is and access information about it.
As well as Wikitude, the project has produced an online interactive map of sites, a downloadable podcast and a full-colour 25 page booklet that is available in local retailers and online.
The Sunken Secrets project provides fascinating information through a range of media, allowing people to find out about the underwater heritage that lies off the Isle of Wight’s coast. Many of these sites have been researched by the Trust as part of the Archaeological Atlas of the 2 Seas project, a joint venture with maritime archaeologists in Belgium and France that is investigating shared maritime archaeology in the Channel.
HWTMA Project Officer Christin Heamagi said “This is a wonderful way for people to explore underwater heritage through modern media. This project allows them to find out about eight areas around the coast that contain numerous wrecks and historic landscapes, either online in the comfort of their home or from a booklet whilst out and about on the island. With Wikitude they can also stand on the coast and, by pointing their phone out to sea, see where a shipwreck is and instantly access information online.”
The project was funded by the West Wight Landscape Partnership, a three year Heritage Lottery Funded partnership that seeks to encourage people to explore and celebrate the rich and diverse heritage of the western Isle of Wight.
The guidebook is the fourth in West Wight Landscape Partnership’s series of Isle of Wight walks, which also includes another guide by the Trust that leads walkers around the Victorian coastal batteries overlooking the Needles Passage. More about the Trust’s work, along with the Sunken Secrets online resources and podcasts, are available on the Trust website atg with the Sunken Secrets online resources and podcasts, are available on the Trust website at Sunkens Secrets.
