The Marine Provisions of the Heritage Bill 2008

Abstract

This article examines the provision of the Heritage Bill 2008 relating to the protection of the United Kingdom‘s underwater cultural heritage. Currently such protection is principally afforded by the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973, a temporary and very limited measure, widely acknowledged as being urgently in need of replacement by a more extensive regulatory regime. In the event the underwater cultural heritage provisions of the Bill were a deep disappointment to the marine archaeological community. The article outlines these provisions and critically assesses their likely efficacy.