England's Historic Seascapes: Southwold to Clacton

Oxford Archaeology (South), 2007. https://doi.org/10.5284/1000277. How to cite using this DOI

Digital Object Identifiers

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Citing this DOI

The updated Crossref DOI Display guidelines recommend that DOIs should be displayed in the following format:

https://doi.org/10.5284/1000277
Sample Citation for this DOI

Oxford Archaeology (South) (2007) England's Historic Seascapes: Southwold to Clacton [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1000277

Data copyright © Historic England unless otherwise stated

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Resource identifiers

Digital Object Identifiers

Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) are persistent identifiers which can be used to consistently and accurately reference digital objects and/or content. The DOIs provide a way for the ADS resources to be cited in a similar fashion to traditional scholarly materials. More information on DOIs at the ADS can be found on our help page.

Citing this DOI

The updated Crossref DOI Display guidelines recommend that DOIs should be displayed in the following format:

https://doi.org/10.5284/1000277
Sample Citation for this DOI

Oxford Archaeology (South) (2007) England's Historic Seascapes: Southwold to Clacton [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1000277

Kentish Knock Dredging

Primary Subcharacter Type:

Dredging (aggregates)

Dredging (aggregates)

Main Character / current form and use

This character area encompasses a tract of open sea, approximately 18 km x 5 km, to the east of the Kentish Knock Bank, off the North Essex coast. The area is predominantly defined by its history of aggregates dredging. The sediment type in the area is gravelly muddy sand to the east and gravel to the west, making the area viable for such activity. A licensed region known as the Kentish Knock dredging area is operated by Cemex UK Marine, though this may be currently out of use. Dredging activity is related to market demand, therefore activity can be sporadic and difficult to predict (Rogers 1997). This affects fishing activity as actively dredged areas are temporarily closed to commercial fishing.

The area is also transited by cargo ships, tankers, ferries and gas carriers (Jones et al nd) and is directly northeast of the Knock Deep Channel (see Kentish Knock and Knock Deep character area). It is subject to a number of restrictions including high speed craft, submarine cables and traffic separation and is covered by Vessel Traffic Services (VTS). A series of Royal Yacht Association (RYA) routes cross the north of the area, heading out to the open sea. The area is also a potential recreational dive site.

The character area is mostly within the depth range of 20 m to 30 m, though some areas are deeper, with pockets up to 50 m, decreasing to 10-20 m in the southwest corner and in isolated patches.

Historic Character and archaeological potential

Little is known about the historic character of the area and only 13 wrecks are recorded. In total four of these are named, all of which were sunk by collision with mines or torpedoes. These include the Hardingham, Peter Hamre and Mecklenburg. The potential for shipwreck archaeology therefore exists in the area but is not high.

The Albert Close fishing chart of 1953 records that this area was good sole ground in the summer.

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 Kentish Knock dredging character area is generally only known for its dredging history. It is unlikely to be recognised by the local land based community but is well known by the maritime community.

Bibliography

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.

Rogers, S. I., 1997, A review of closed areas in the United Kingdom Exclusive Economic Zone. CEFAS Science Series Technical Report No. 106

Wikipedia. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org (15/03/2007)




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