SAMPHIRE maritime archaeologist, Paolo Croce, scrambles up the edge of Ob Mheallaidh at the end of a snorkel survey.
Category Archives: News
Wildlife in the Highlands
During our recent surveys in the NW of Scotland we encountered some of the wildlife in the Highlands! Although we came to survey archaeological sites there was no escaping the flora and fauna. As well as Lion’s Mane Jellyfish we had to deal with other dangerous creatures. The good weather meant that conditions for diving were ideal but also encouraged the midges to come out. Midge nets were one of our key pieces of equipment!
We also ran into plenty of clegs (horsefly).
Fortunately not all the local wildlife is so terrifying! A group of deer came to check out our operations.
A local seal also dropped by our dive site to see what the fuss was about.
Badnaban
The SAMPHIRE team conducted a snorkel survey of a boat-shaped ballast site reported by experienced local diver Jimmy Crooks at a depth of around 8 metres.
Conditions did not allow us to conduct a dive at the site although we managed to capture video from the surface using a remote camera. Our imagery clearly shows a large feature at the location described to us by Jimmy.
You can see our post from the day of the survey here:
- Badnaban,
- and a video of a Lion’s Mane jellyfish we encountered on the way back to the shore.
Dive survey at Murchadh Breac, Loch Torridon
These are some images from our dive survey at Murchadh Breac, Loch Torridon. This site was first identified by a local fisherman and further information on the site was given to us by local charter operators Kenny and Gemma Livingstone and local historian Robert Gordon, all who live in Sheildaig. This first image shows Robert Gordon in discussion with the SAMPHIRE team member John McCarthy on where best to target the survey.
The underwater environment was heavily covered in kelp which hampered our search.
Gemma Livingstone deploying the ROV!
The day on the boat also gave us a great opportunity to pick the brains of the locals and we discovered that one of the local wrecks was visible in the intertidal part of a nearby burn at Chuaig Bay. Once the dive survey was complete the team headed ashore. We soon came across fragments of a wreck strewn across a wide area, including this well-preserved capstan. The locals informed us that the wreck was well-known locally despite not being recorded in the national archaeological databases and was called the Mafeking. According to local traditions the Mafeking was a salvage vessel, lost during an attempt to salvage the SS Sheila, another unlocated local wreck which we have coordinates for and which is reportedly visible near Chuaig Bay at very low tides.
You can also check out our first visit to the area in May, 2013 where we first met the locals and identified some potential site locations with them and our blogs from the day we carried out the dive survey on the 26th of July, 2013:
Phase 3 – complete!
The SAMPHIRE Team says goodbye to the NW for this season. We have been so busy we couldn’t post as much as we would have liked to but we will be catching up over the next few weeks with highlights of our fieldwork. Thank you to all the local community members who met up with us and especially to those who joined us on our surveys above and below the water. Hope to see you soon!
Handa Sound
Loch Laxford – 2nd August 2013
Volunteer and WA Coastal & Marine divers preparing to make a dive this week from the Kinlochbervie boat MV Nimrod
Local knowledge has been the key to Project SAMPHIRE. All of the information gathered for the project has been shared with us by the maritime communities of NW Scotland. We were very fortunate this week to be joined on the dive vessel and underwater by volunteers. Many of the volunteers have spent thousands of hours on or under the water for work and pleasure and have an unrivalled knowledge of the seabed. We are slowly building bridges with these communities and it is clear that there is a huge potential for enhancing our knowledge and appreciation of our seabed and Scotland’s underwater cultural heritage.
An anchor on the seabed at Loch Laxford
We have undertaken several dives on this site in Loch laxford during the last few days and have taken accurate GPS coordinates of the site location. There are only a handful of recorded losses in this area and we are optimistic about making an identification. This image shows an anchor lying in a gully at around 20 metres depth.
WA Coastal & Marine diver John McCarthy encounters a jellyfish loitering near a reported wreck site near Kinlochbervie
We’ve enjoyed meeting some of the local inhabitants of the area over the last week of dive surveys!
Loch Laxford – 1st August 2013
Divers pinpointing other wreck sites
For the past two days the SAMPHIRE team has been diving in Loch Laxford, south of Kinlochbervie. We are diving alongside local divers to search for the remains of two unrecorded shipwrecks. We first heard of these wrecks during our community outreach trip earlier this summer. We have also had the opportunity to spend more time with the divers going over maps to pinpoint other wreck sites for future survey.
Kinlochbervie Harbour – 29th July 2013
Today the SAMPHIRE team were conducting dive surveys from Kinlochbervie Harbour, from the local boat the MV Nimrod, skippered by Jimmy MacIntosh. We have been joined for the next few days by Bruce Greig, a volunteer dive whose years of scallop diving in the area have given him a comprehensive knowledge of local diving conditions and sites. We had a great first day of diving south of Elphin and were escorted back to the harbour by another local with extensive diving experience!
SAMPHIRE team's new escort
Badnaban, nr Lochinver – 28th July 2013
Today the SAMPHIRE team surveyed a ballast dump/site reported by local diver Jimmy Crooks in Badnaban near Lochinver. The site has never been recorded before and lies just off a small island near the beach. Jimmy, a Lochinver resident with years of experience, has just celebrated his 71st birthday and was kind enough to accompany us to the site to guide us directly to it!
Taking a look at Badnaban with Jimmy Crooks
Chuaig Bay – 27th July 2013
Following up on clues from local skipper Kenny Livingstone, we took a walk down the shore at Chuaig Bay at low tide. He had informed us about two historic wrecks that have never been included in the RCAHMS database. Although the wreck on the shore was not exposed we found several parts of the second wreck in the intertidal part of the stream including a well-preserved capstan and a boiler.
Investigating the beach at Chuaig Bay