At the end of February, the Fishing Industry Protocol for Archaeological Discoveries (FIPAD) was relaunched in Sussex with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Sussex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA). Following a busy summer and autumn of outreach events, visits to the ports of Sussex, meetings with local contacts and supporters, some fantastic finds have been reported! These include a lead ingot, an airplane wing and other aircraft fragments, bottles, earthenware pots, anchors, shell cases and a cannonball to name but a few.
The new FIPAD newsletter, as part of the ongoing promotion of the project, provides feedback to the fishing and wider community, and includes information on the current success of the project as well as some useful hints and tips on recording finds and dating glass bottles. Future issues will showcase items reported through the protocol and provide assistance in recognising and identifying other common finds.
Currently Rye and Hastings have been the most prolific reporters of finds with Chichester and Eastbourne following up behind. Hopefully Brighton, Shoreham and Selsey are just slow starters and will have much to report in the future.
With talks on the project and maritime archaeology already planned for the New Year and some new developments on the reporting of finds on the way, 2017 is looking to be an exciting year for the project.
To read the newsletter follow this link
To find out more about this project visit the FIPAD site