MSDS Marine is a British marine and coastal contractor that specialises in the management, execution and support of archaeological projects in the marine environment. The company also engages in outreach to educate the public about marine and coastal heritage and environments and provides opportunities for volunteering.

History

MSDS Marine was set up in 2011, and became a

limited company In a limited company, the liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a company limited by ...

in 2015. In 2019 MSDS Marine opened an office in

Holbrook, Derbyshire Holbrook is a village in Derbyshire at the southern end of the Pennines around five miles north of Derby, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,538. History Holbrook lies about two miles to the north-east of Duffie ...

. The company is a CIfA Registered Organisation, a member of the Association of Diving contractors, and a member of the

Federation of Archaeological Managers and Employers {{Infobox Organization , name = Federation of Archaeological Managers and Employers , image = Fame-logo-2019.png , size = 200px , caption = , abbreviation = FAME , formation = ...

Notable projects

In 2017 and 2018 MSDS Marine, in partnership with the

Rijksdienst Voor het Cultureel Erfgoed Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE, Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands) often abbreviated as Cultureel Erfgoed, is a Dutch heritage organisation working for the protection and conservation of National Heritage Sites. It is located ...

and

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

, conducted an excavation of the remains of the eighteenth-century Dutch

East Indiaman East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...

the ''

Rooswijk The ''Rooswijk'' () was a ship belonging to the VOC (Dutch East India Company) that, according to recent, non-contemporary, news reports, sank in 1740. The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by Historic England. Construction and service Accor ...

'', and are leading the

post excavation Post-excavation analysis constitutes processes that are used to study archaeological materials after an excavation is completed. Since the advent of "New Archaeology" in the 1960s, the use of scientific techniques in archaeology has grown in impo ...

works which are planned to finish in 2021. In 2018 MSDS Marine produced a virtual dive trail for the ''Rooswijk''. Between 2014 and 2016 MSDS Marine worked alongside Cotswold Archaeology to excavate the wreck of the seventeenth century

second-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a second-rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th-century second rates had fewer guns ...

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

the ''

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

''.''.'' The excavation was licensed and funded by Historic England. During this excavation a

gun carriage A gun carriage is a frame and mount that supports the gun barrel of an artillery piece, allowing it to be maneuvered and fired. These platforms often had wheels so that the artillery pieces could be moved more easily. Gun carriages are also used ...

was recovered which has been hailed as a nationally significant find MSDS Marine are also contracted to undertake remote sensing work on the site of the wreck to monitor ongoing erosion. MSDS Marine also assisted in the development of a virtual dive trail for the ''London''. Other projects include the development of virtual trails for the protected wreck site at Thorness Bay and the submarine U8, and the retained

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

role for a number of

offshore wind farms Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the Wind power, generation of electricity through wind farms in bodies of water, usually at sea. There are higher wind speeds offshore than on land, so offshore farms generate more electricity per ...

In media

MSDS Marine has been featured on the

BBC's #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

Digging for Britain ''Digging For Britain'' is a British television series focused on last and current year archaeology. The series is made by 360 Production (now Rare TV) for the BBC and is presented by Alice Roberts. It was first aired in August 2010. The series ...

, Wind Energy Network Magazine

Current Archaeology ''Current Archaeology'' is a British monthly archaeology magazine. Summary ''Current Archaeology'' describes itself as the "United Kingdom's best selling archaeology magazine", a claim substantiated by British Archaeological Jobs and Resources o ...

magazine, and the National Geographic Channel’s

Drain the Oceans ''Drain the Oceans'' is an Australian and British Television documentary, documentary television series that premiered on 28 May 2018 on National Geographic (U.S. TV channel), National Geographic. The 25-part factual series is hosted by Russell ...

Reference

{{reflist Underwater archaeology Shipwrecks Archaeology