Needles Protected Wreck Site
Since its discovery in 1969 over 3000 items from the Needles Wreck site have been surveyed, excavated and recorded. Many more artefacts lay scattered in the gullies around the site, most of which are from the wreck of HMS Pomone a 5th rate ship which was wrecked in 1811. Other artefacts are from the wreck of Assurance which also foundered on the Needles Rocks in 1753.
Painting of HMS Pomone wrecking
It is an area of sharp eroded chalk gullies and ridges, formed into east-west aligned channels along the remains of a former chalk ridge.
It is a very interesting site to dive, complex and irregular gullies offer a broad range of environments for divers to examine. The presence of wreck material, much of which is concreted to the sea floor or lying in the gullies, enhances the scene.
To aid access to the wreck scatter, an underwater line has been placed around part of the site. The line runs between sinkers positioned adjacent to noteworthy artefacts. A trial board has been attached to the sinker to monitor how it fares over the winter. In addition, an underwater plan has been generated which shows the main topographical features. These can be used as markers to navigate divers around more easily accessible parts of the site.
Images of the Needles from ISIS 100 swath bathymetric survey
data
(Submetrix Ltd)
To find out more about HMS Pomone investigations:
- D Tomalin, P Simpson & J Bingeman 'Excavation versus sustainability
in situ: a conclusion on 25 years of archaeological investigations at
Goose Rock, a designated historic wreck-site at the Needles, Isle of Wight'
in International Journal for Nautical Archaeology Volume 29 No1
- G Momber & M Geen 'The application of the Submetrix ISIS 100 Swath Bathymetry system to the management of underwater sites' in International Journal for Nautical Archaeology Volume 29 No 1