Welcome to the blog of the Sharpness Hulks Archaeological Survey Project

This project aims to survey and identify the remains of four hulks located in the half pound of the Sharpness old dock on the Gloucester and Sharpness canal. The results of this project will be used as part fulfilment for the Nautical Archaeological Society's part 2 Certificate in Foreshore and Underwater Archaeology.

The four hulks are the Mary, the Society, and two unknown barges and are part of the Purton Hulks used to prevent erosion of the banks of the river Severn throughout the 20th century.

Saturday, 4 October 2008

Saturday 4th October 2008 - 1st Day on site



Early on Saturday morning the wind decided to blow but thankfully the rain held off. We met up with Paul Barnett (he of Purton Hulks fame) to discuss the hulks submerged and half submerged within the pound, glean as much useful information from him as possible, and decide on some project aims.

The hulks are the Mary, from Truro, the very first of the Mary barges; the Society, a Stroudwater barge; and two unknown barges, one possibly being the Hastings, a Droitwich barge initially beached near to the entrance of the pound and which subsequently suffered from an explosion in the 1930's; and one possibly being a second Stroudwater barge.

As the water in the pound is relatively shallow and the bottom composition silty it was decided that Matt would conduct a video survey of the closest hulk (unkown hulk no. 1: UH1) before visibility dropped too much. This was followed up by a measured outline survey, using a total station and prism, basic dimension measurements (length and breadth), and visual observations.

Mary and Sue were then tasked with conducting visual surveys on the remaining 3 hulks (all located together on the far side of the pound) to identify any possible hazards and pertinent features.


The day ended with a trip to the local pub and a quick walk by some of the Purton Hulks to look for any similar hulks.

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