England's Historic Seascapes: Southwold to Clacton
Oxford Archaeology (South), 2007. https://doi.org/10.5284/1000277. How to cite using this DOI
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Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 746
- ALSF Project Number: 4729
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1000277
- How to cite using this DOI
England's Historic Seascapes:
Southwold to Clacton
ALSF Project Number 4729
Oxford Archaeology, 2007
Cable Junction
Primary Subcharacter Type:
Submarine cable/pipeline
Main Character / current form and use
This area is characterised by the presence of a number of submarine cables and a pipeline, with very few other features except for its natural landscape. A large network cable runs north-south through the western part of the area, connecting the United States with the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, maintained by Global Crossing. This is crossed at this point by Concerto South which connects the UK to the Netherlands and Belgium and is maintained by Interoute and Flute Ltd; also by Farland North connecting Aldeburgh to Domburg in Holland, maintained by BT and NTL, and four disused cables. A gas supply pipeline maintained by UK Deal, connecting Bacton to Zeebruge in the Netherlands runs north-south through the east of the character area.
The east of the area is also a recognised shipping route. Vessels known to transit this track includes ferries, gas carriers and tankers. In general the area of cables to the west appears to be avoided by shipping with the exception of two ferry routes (Jones et al nd). No shipping restrictions are in place within this character area.
The depth across the character area is relatively uniform, ranging from 30 m to 50 m with patches of decreased depth to 20-30 m, mainly in the west. These correspond with patches of gravel, among the predominantly gravelly muddy sand of the region. The tidal range in the character area is mainly within the range of 2-3 m at Mean Spring Tide (DTI 2004).
The character area is not known to host any recreational activity although it may be a potential recreational dive site in terms of its depth and proximity to shore.
Historic Character and archaeological potential
The character area has no known navigational features and as such is not a feature of historic charts. The area was defensively mined as part of a large coastal barrier during WW2 and contained the break in this barrier known as Gap E (Foynes 1994). Considering this there are surprisingly few known wrecks in view of the size of the character area. This may be a consequence of the depth of the area and lack of investigation. In total seven wrecks are known, five of which are considered dangerous. No details are available about the sunken vessels. The Albert Close fishing chart of 1953 records that part of this area was good fishing ground.
The potential exists for shipwreck archaeology though it is not expected to be high. Any surviving vessels may be well preserved as a consequence of their depth. In addition, the area has potential to contain submerged prehistoric landscapes, features or artefacts, having been dry land prior to 8000 BP. However, no investigation work is known to have been done in this area.
Character perceptions
The Cable Junction East area is, in part, known to the shipping community as a continental sea route. As an area of open sea, c 30 km from the Suffolk coast the area is unlikely to be known by local land-based communities. Currently available information indicates the area has not been intensively investigated.
Bibliography
DTI, 2004, Mean Spring Tidal Range: Atlas of UK Marine Renewable Energy Resources. Department of Trade and Industry, 2004
Foynes, J. P., 1994, Battle of the East Coast (1939-1945). J. P. Foynes
Jones, L. A., Coyle, M. D., Evans, D., Gilliland, P.M., & Murray, A. R., Southern North Sea Marine Natural Area Profile: A contribution to regional planning and management of the seas around England. Peterborough: English Nature.
Wikipedia. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org (15/03/2007)
