News archive
March 2008
HWTMA Launch New Children's Book: Derek the Dredger and the Underwater Archaeologists
The Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology are delighted to announce the publication of a new children's story book. The fully illustrated story book has been funded by English Heritage through the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund and explores the exciting world of underwater archaeology through fun characters.

'When Professor Archie O'Logy and Professor Marie Time bump into Derek the Dredger, they realise that a great friendship could lead to some amazing new discoveries . . .
But they did not realise quite how dangerous the sea can be, or what sort of surprising things that they might find!'
For more information, or to order a copy, please contact Rebecca at HWTMA.
Underwater Archaeology Centre Reopens for 2008
The Underwater Archaeology Centre has reopened for the 2008 season. There are a number of new attractions including the addition of two new interactive computer terminals. For more information on visiting, or to find out about school and group visits please contact Alison.
HWTMA lead the way with Maritime Archaeology Education at the Birmingham Education Show 2008
HWTMA exhibited at the 2008 Birmingham Education Show at the NEC where our new resources and activities for schools were met with a very positive response. Over 16,000 teachers attended the show and many came to visit the HWTMA stand. HWTMA were pleased that teachers remembered us from 2007 and came back to enquire what new resources we could provide them with! If you saw us at the show or would like more information on our schools programme please contact our Education Officers or see the Services for Schools pages.
15th October
Alison Hamer
Thankyou to our Birmingham Dive Show Supporters
HWTMA attended the Birmingham dive show this weekend thanks to a fantastic fundraising effort organised by Go Dive and with support and prizes from Oceanic, Typhoon and Problu. The money has all been counted and £1247 was raised. Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology as a charity rely on donations and donations such as this allow us to continue our work.
Young Archaeologists Dive In!
HWTMA are pleased to announce exciting new funding from the Young Roots fund of the Heritage Lottery Fund that will allow eight lucky 13 - 17 year olds the chance to learn to dive and undertake project work in the Solent with HWTMA. For more information please download the details here.
Job Opportunity
Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology are looking for a new archaeologist to complement the current team. The closing date for applications is October 4th. For a full job description please click here .
New Discoveries at Bouldnor Cliff
New work at Bouldnor Cliff has brought to light exciting new discoveries. Updates on the project will be available on the project webpages over the next few weeks. A new video of the site is now available.
HWTMA in the Sunday Telegraph
HWTMA have given an extensive interview to the Sunday Telegraph about the work at Bouldnor Cliff. To read the full interview please use this link to the Sunday Telegraph website.
Mary Rose Trust Announce Conference
The Mary Rose Trust is hosting a three day conference in October 2007 at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard as part of the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the lifting of the Mary Rose (sank 1545, raised 1982). For more information please see our conference pages .
HWTMA on the news
Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology have been featured on both the BBC and ITV news for our important work at Bouldnor Cliff. To view the BBC clip please visit the BBC website using this link . To view the ITV clip please visit the ITV website using this link .
Annual Public Lecture Speaker Confirmed
HWTMA can confirm that David Green , Director of the Isle of Wight Maritime Heritage Partnership and Global Project Manager for Gypsy Moth IV , will be this year’s guest speaker at the Annual Public Lecture of the Hampshire & Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology. His subject will be: ‘“ Marine Archeology" - the rescue, restoration and recent circumnavigation of Gipsy Moth IV.‘
The lecture will be taking place at Medina Theatre, Newport on the Isle of Wight , on Thursday 27 th November 2007 at 7pm. The lecture is free and there is no need to book, all are welcome to join us for an informative and enjoyable evening. Refreshments will be available.
If you would like more information or directions to the venue please contact Victoria Millership on 02380 593290 or email Victoria Millership .
The Underwater Archaeology Centre Receives Award
The Underwater Archaeology Centre has received a Gold Green Island Tourism Award for 2007. For more information please visit our Underwater Archaeology Centre pages.
Trust Director Garry Momber has been invited to take part in maritime archaeology themed event organised by Southampton Oral History Unit at the National Oceanography Centre on June 16th. Tudor Warships and Basque Whaling Boats - Martime archaeology and traditional boat building in the Solent and the Basque Country. Date: 16 th June 2007. Time: 10 am to 4.30 pm. Venue: National Oceanography Centre, European Way , Empress Dock, Southampton. Admission: Free. For bookings please contact: 023 8063 5904 / 023 8091 5731 or 5737 or email: museums@southampton .gov.uk.To find out more please download the information poster here.
The Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology are delighted to announce that we have received further funding from English Heritage through the Aggregates Levy Sustainability fund to extend the highly successful Aggregates to Outreach Project. The project will:
- Continue the programme of talks for community groups
- Extend the Teaching Pack Resources to three new areas; the South West, the Humber, and the East Coast and Thames .
- Allow us to provide a number of free workshops in schools based around the Teaching Pack
- Develop an Aggregates and Archaeology themed assembly
- Production of an Aggregates and Archaeology Activity Book
- Production of Professor Archie O’Logys Interactive Aggregate and Archaeology Funworld CD
For more information please contact Rebecca Causer or visit our education pages.
Following on from the launch of our Maritime Archaeology Access and Learning Workshops scheduled for July 2007 we have launched a date for a second workshop. The July workshop booked up within a week of being announced so we recommend booking quickly for the October workshop to avoid disappointment. For more information please see our events pages.
Friends Activities and Trips Announced
The Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology are delighted to announce a series of events, trips and activities for the Friends of HWTMA in 2007. These have been made possible thanks to funding from Awards for All. Events will include a historic pub crawl of Southampton, ancient technology workshops and a trip to Chatham Historic Dockyard. For more information on the trips and the dates please see our events pages. To book a place please email Rebecca.
Time Team: Britain's Drowned World
The Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology made a substantial contribution to the Time Team Channel 4 special on Britain's Drowned World. For more information on the programme please visit the Time Team website.
New HWTMA Polo Shirts Available
The
new Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology polo shirts have
finally arrived after many requests! For more information please see our
publications and merchandise pages.
Maritime Archaeology Access and Learning Workshops
The Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology are delighted to announce that we have received funding from English Heritage through the Aggregates Levy Sustainability fund to run free Maritime Archaeology Access and Learning Workshops in 2007 and 2008. These workshops will run free of charge , including accommodation, and are open to anyone! The only contribution participants are asked to make is to buy their own evening meal.
We would suggest the following people might find them useful:
- Education Officers in archaeological organisations
- Education Officers in museums
- Teachers
- Young Archaeology Club leaders
- Marine Wildlife Rangers and Officers
- Diving professionals looking to organise events
- Education Officers within the aggregate industry
- Anyone involved in organising events for children and families who would like to have a maritime archaeology focus
The workshops will encourage the sharing of ideas and best practice in events and activity planning. HWTMA staff will be on hand to demonstrate their ideas for activities and specialists will be running sessions on themes ranging from event photography to writing a good risk assessment. The residential aspect will encourage networking and will hopefully help to spark some exciting new outreach projects.
The first workshop will be held on the 25th – 26th July 2007 at Sandown, Isle of Wight , a second workshop is planned for February 2008. A mini bus pick up will be available from Southampton . For more information please see our events page.
The Hamble River: Maritime Archaeology Activity Book
The Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology have published another exciting book! The Hamble River: Maritime Archaeology Activity Book has been produced with funding from the Crown Estate and aims to engage children with the archaeology of the River Hamble. For more information please view our publications pages or contact Rebecca.
The
Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology have commissioned a series
of charity badges. These are available from the HWTMA office for a small
donation. For more information please contact Alison.
Hamble River HLF Project
The Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology will be continuing our extensive progamme of research on the River Hamble in 2007 due to funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. For a full list of dates please visit our events pages.
New funding for Bouldnor Cliff
The Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology have been pleased to receive funding this year to carry out some test pits on the Bouldnor Cliff site (the submerged Mesolithic settlement site in the Solent). This is very exciting and will help us obtain further information on the nature of this interesting site which is the deepest stratified site of it’s type in Britain dating to around eight and a half thousand years ago. We will be work on the site during June, July and August and will need volunteers to help out during some of these dates. This not only means volunteer divers but also people on the ground to help with logistics, samples and general tasks. When we are working out of the Lymington area there will be accommodation/catering facilities provided at a local scout hut so people can stay over if they would like (also space to bring small tents if you prefer). If interested please e-mail Jan Gillespie for further information which we can provide when the plans are finalised.
16 February 2007
Forthcoming Exhibitions
The Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology are delighted to announce we will be attending two important and prestigous shows in 2007. The first event is the London International Dive Show where we will be promoting the work of HWTMA and our innovative schemes for diver access such as the Alum Bay Dive Trail. The second event is the 2007 Education Show in Birmingham where we will be exhibiting our extensive range of high quality resources that are available for schools. For more information on these events please see our events section or contact Alison.
09 February 2007
Online Donations
Donations to support the activities of The Hampshire and Wight Trust can now be made online through the Charity Choice website. Please click on the online donation button on the home page of our website.
26 October 2006
Annual Report
This years Annual Report presenting our fifteenth
year of presenting outreach activities and seminars has been the Hampshire
and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology's busiest yet with a programme
reaching out to members of the public, community groups and schools. 77
presentations have been given, 16 reports, books
and papers have been published, 23 activity days
have been organised, over 1500 education packs have been
requested by schools around the country and our web site has attracted over
250,000 'hits'. Use the link to obtain a copy of the HWTMA's
Annual Report.
21 September 2006
Annual General Meeting, fieldwork Seminar and Annual
Public Lecture
The HWTMA AGM and Annual Public Lecture will be held on Friday 20th October
2006 in the Princess Royal Gallery at the Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth.
Click here for more details.
03 July 2006
Da Vinci Community College Go-Dive into Archaeology
Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology were delighted to be
invited to Da Vinci Community School in Derby for a week of Maritime Archaeology
workshops. Derby is quite a distance from the sea and it was hoped the week
would be chance at something new and exciting for the pupils involved. Martyn
Cooper from da Vinci originally got in touch with HWTMA. ‘This is a great
opportunity to enable students to experience a series of activities in their
local community that they have never dreamt of doing before. The demand
for places has been phenomenal with students relishing the opportunity to
engage in learning through new experiences whilst having tremendous fun’.
Pupils learnt all about the fascinating world of maritime archaeology including
shipwrecks and sunken settlements from HWTMA Education Officer Alison Hamer.
‘This is something new and exciting for HWTMA. We are used to working with
schools that regularly interact with the sea but here in Derby we are hoping
to offer the pupils something a little bit different! I went to school in
Derby and hope to show the pupils that if I can get into maritime archaeology
despite living in such a landlocked city anyone can!’ said Alison.
Pupils started off exploring the world of Maritime Archaeology in the classroom.
Subjects such as ‘What is Maritime Archaeology?’ ‘Shipwrecks and Conservation’
and ‘Equipment and Skills’ were examined through hands on practical sessions.
These sessions were complimented by the use of the new HWTMA Loans Box which
contains actual artefacts, some 500,000 years old! Then there was the chance
for the pupils to try something new – Scuba Diving!! This was made possible
through the help and support of local PADI Instructors from GoDive who provided
their services and equipment free of charge. Mark Hudson, Go-Dive owner
says ‘Scuba diving is an exciting experience for everyone. We are excited
to be involved in the project and hope to give the youngsters a taste of
the sport we love’. Virgin Active were also involved and allowed the scuba
diving to take place for free in their pool.
The final exciting aspect of the day was a trip to the new Derventio Heritage
Village where the students were given a chance to look round the site which
is not open to the public until August. There was then the chance to try
some ancient technology skills such as thatching and wattle and daub.
The week was a tremendous success and just went to show what can be achieved
by different areas in the community working together, donating their time,
services and skills for free!! Over fifty pupils took part and most of them
now hope to go on and learn to scuba dive and take part on archaeological
projects. The initial feedback has been tremendous with comments including
‘breathtakingly brilliant’!
For further information, including more pictures, please contact Alison
Hamer
09 May 2006
National Archaeology Day at the Underwater Archaeology
Centre - 15 July 2006
HWTMA are pleased to announce that this year the Underwater Archaeology
Centre will play host to the largest National Archaeology Week to be held
there yet! There will be fun archaeological activities for all the family
to try. . . and best of all it is all free! Drop in between 11am and 3pm
to try archaeological excavation, the underwater challenge and much much
more.
Please download the poster here to print for advertising this great event
in your area.
Please note although the event is free, normal admission charges to the
main exhibition still apply.
For more information please contact Alison Hamer
21 April 2006
‘We Can Do It’ exhibition at the Quay Arts Centre,
Newport
HWTMA Education Officers Rebecca Causer and Alison Hamer were delighted
to attend the opening of the ‘We Can Do It’ exhibition at the Quay Arts
Centre, Newport . The Exhibition features work from the students on the
Essential Skills Course at the Isle of Wight College . The course is designed
to enable students with learning disabilities to develop confidence, self
esteem and social and communication skills. We have been working with the
group on a project inspired by ships figureheads. The group have learned
about the history of figureheads and been inspired to make and build their
own.
07 March 2006
Exciting huge new Summer activities at the Underwater Archaeology Centre
This summer the Underwater Archaeology Centre is going to be running a huge array of exciting and interesting events for children from figurehead painting to making your very own mini wreck site!Click here to find out more...
12 December 2005
HWTMA are delighted to announce that thanks to funding from the Local Heritage Initiative we will be able to offer an exciting series of subsidised trips and events in 2006. We are keen to increase our membership in 2006 so please bring along friends and family. HWTMA will be delighted to offer a complimentary year’s membership of the friends to new people who come along and join us. Trips will run according to demand so please book your place as soon as possible. More visits are planned dependant on uptake.
To be informed first please inform the HWTMA office of your email address to be regularly contacted as trips are confirmed.
For more information and a booking form please see our Friends Activities pages or contact Alison.hamer@hwtma.org.uk
21 February 2006
Job opportunities at the Underwater Archaeology Centre
Several exciting job opportunities have arisen at our Underwater Archaeology Centre for a Shop Manager and two Shop Assistants one for the weekends and one for weekdays. The closing date for these positions are 8 March 2006. Further details can be found by clicking on the relevant link below and application forms can be obtained by emailing Alison.hamer@hwtma.org.uk
Part Time Shop Assistant Weekdays
Part Time Shop Asssitant Weekends
20 October 2005
Free Oral History Course to Record Maritime Stories
The Friends of the Trust is running a project to record the maritime stories of people throughout the region. Thanks to funding from the Local Heritage Initiative the project will be record this important oral history before it is lost. We are looking for people with stories to tell and for volunteers to help us record these hidden gems. Please contact Jan Gillespie or browse the Dive onto Victory page for more information.
03 October 2005
Winter Lecture Programme 2005/06
The HWTMA and Brading Roman Villa are delighted to announce the launch of a new winter lecture series. All lectures take place at Brading Roman Villa and are free to any members of the public. They take place on the first Saturday of each month starting at 2pm. Places are limited so please contact either Alison Hamer or Lisa Kerley to book. More details are available to download (pdf -299kb).
03 October 2005
Nelson's Navy theme of 2005 HWTMA lecture
This years annual lecture will be given by Peter Goodwin, Keeper and Curator of HMS Victory. The title of the talk is "The Ships of Nelson's Navy". It will take place on Thursday 24th November, 7pm in the Lecture Theatre of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton. Admission is free, please contact the office for more details.
21 July 2005
Updated Summer events
Visit our Events Page and for a full list of current events happening over the next couple of months from pirate fancy dress competitions to minature coracle building, a whole list of fun filled events is available to download at the Events Page.
27 June 2005
Summer Events
With summer upon us the HWTMA have arranged a whole series of events from a figurehead making workshop to a whole series of summer holiday activities to be held at the Sunken History Exhibition.
02 June 2005
A day of Coracle building
Instructors from The Ancient Technology Centre in Cranborne ran a one day workshop for the HWTMA. The workshop was very much “hands-on”, with all the participants able to get involved with the creation of the coracle, from learning how to bend and weave the timber laths to form the structure of the craft, covering it and even making a paddle from scratch! All the participants thoroughly enjoyed their day and were able to learn a great deal with regards this traditional and disappearing skill. The finished coracle can be seen on display at The Sunken History Exhibition at Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight .

11 April 2005
Site Videos of our Maritime Archaeology work
See our four new maritime archaeological site videos and watch for yourselves
some of the activities that the Trust has recently been undertaking. Dive
the site of HMS
Impregnable or dive the Mystery
wreck on Horse Tail Sands. Watch volunteers as they work preserving
our maritime heritage on hulks along the shores of the Hamble
or view the excavation of the Langstone
Logboat.
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11 April 2005
Farewell to Gavin
A final goodbye to Gavin who is off on his travels around the world. Having worked hard at the Trust over the past four years, on various projects and events he has been a key role with fundraising and IT skills. While both his legendary cooking skills and good sense of humour will also be missed.
22 March 2005
A busy weekend of outreach
Last weekend was a busy period for the Trust with several successful public events attended. The Maritime Heritage Exhibition reopened with a corracle making activity for Friends of the Trust. The day also gave the public a chance to see the new displays, a refurbished shop and meet our new staff. The National Science Fair was based at the Southampton Oceanography Centre. Our stand attracted plenty of interest with our new information panels and activities for children. We also had a stand at the Eastleigh local history fair.
All in all it was a very busy time and is a sign of our jammed packed summer which lies ahead with the opening of the diver trails, fieldwork, open days at Fort Victoria and so much more!!
4 March 2005
Dive Trail Launch
With this weekend's Dive Show comes the launch of our Dive Trail pages. These pages are in preperation of the launch of the Alum Bay and Needles Dive Trails on 20 May 2005.
The dive trail section outlines the Dive Trail Experience, how you can dive the trails and the excellent opportunities we have for those of you who can't dive.
22 February 2005
New Faces and New Projects
The new year brings two new faces to the HWTMA.
Rebecca Causer started in January and is the Project Officer for the ALSF (Aggregates Levy Sustainabillity Fund) funded "Solent Aggregates to Outreach: Presentation and Teaching Packs" Project. Rebecca's illustration and design skills will also be utilized for our other outreach projects.
The project is seeking to develop education packs for schools and presentation packs for community groups based around marine aggregate extraction.
Alison Hamer is the new education officer replacing Natasha Fry who left the Trust to work in America late last year. With her background in education and outreach she will take forward the development of the HWTMA education pack and organise the activity events around Fort Victoria.
30 November 2004
13th HWTMA Annual Public Lecture Well Attended
This years lecture was held at Medina Theatre, Newport, Isle of Wight, on 25 November. The lecture was given by Stephen Riley, Director of Maritime Heritage at the National Maritime Museum and Garry Momber, the Director of the Trust.
Stephen Riley opened by addressing the priorities of our maritime historic record. He also highlighted the need for preserving the oral history of the people who use the sea. A short DVD on SeaBritain 2005 was also shown. The National Maritime Museum is a lead organisation and the Trust is a partner organisation in next years festivities.
Garry Momber discussed the importance of creating a window into our maritime heritage for the general public. He detailed ways we can engage the public, using the Trust's pioneering work with diver trails, submerged landscapes and activity days as case studies.
Garry Momber introduces Stephen Riley
9 November 2004
Hearth discovered on Mesolithic Site at Bouldnor Cliff
During dive operations in October, a hearth was discovered on a routine inspection along Bouldnor Cliff. The hearth is eroding from the cliff between BC2 and BC4, two sites which are currently under investigation by the Trust. Within it lies burnt flint and clay nodules. This find holds great potential and was revisted in early November for further inspection and sampling. It is hoped that work will continue on this important and interesting discovery next year.

19 October 2004
HWTMA 2004 AGM
The Trust's AGM was held on the 15 October 2004. The event was a great success and saw Maldwin Drummond voted on as the new chairman of the Trust. We also launched this years annual report which has now been revamped and renamed as A Year in Depth: Solent Archaeological Review.
A series of short presentations were given by Trust staff after the morning's business.
Julie Satchell: Fieldwork Review
Gavin Stone: Intertidal Investigations
Claire Campbell: Marketing the Trust
Natasha Fry: The H2O Programme
30 September 2004
HWTMA 2004 Annual Public Lecture
This lecture will be given by Stephen Riley, Director of Maritime Heritage at the National Maritime Museum and Garry Momber, the Director of the Trust. The topic will be on how maritime heritage is made more accessible to the general public in a lecture entitled Shipwrecks and Lost Landscapes: A window beneath the waves.
It will take place on Thursday 25th November at 7pm in Medina Theatre, Newport, Isle of Wight. Admission is free, please contact the office for more details.
1 September 2004
Warship Hazardous Archive Project
Over the winter the Trust will be working with the Hazardous Project Team to archive over two decades of work from the Hazardous wreck site. It is an important project which will increase dissemination of the investigations to date and lay the foundations of future efforts. The project has been funded by English Heritage.

17 August 2004
Southeast Marine Week Event
The Trust took part in this regional event organised by the Southeast Wildlife Trusts by hosting an event at Fort Victoria. Over 500 visitors took part in a variety of activites while learning about how marine life. Our event focuses on the findings of the OASIS project which investigates how shipwrecks are important habitiats from wildlife.

3 August 2004
National Archaeology Day at Fort Victoria
This years National Archaeology Day was a great success with over 250 visitors. The activites included the diver trail activity, simulated underwater excavation, prehistoric painting murals and iron age fish stew cooking demonstrations. The event was funded by the Local Heritage Initiative as part of the Trust's Waters of the Wight project.

13 July 2004
New HWTMA Website Launch
The HWTMA has launched its new website. It has a new look and includes more information on its work. This development is thanks to project funding through the Isle of Wight Economic Partnership's Leader+ programme, which has also aided the development of the trust's education and outreach programme.