Wessex Archaeology Iona II, Off Lundy Island, North Devon Designated Site Assessment: Archaeological Report Ref: 53111.03mmm January 2009 ARCHAEOLOGICAL SERVICES IN RELATION TO THE PROTECTION OF WRECKS ACT (1973) IONA II, OFF LUNDY ISLAND, NORTH DEVON DESIGNATED SITE ASSESSMENT: ARCHAEOLOGICAL REPORT Prepared by: Wessex Archaeology Portway House Old Sarum Park Salisbury WILTSHIRE SP4 6EB Prepared for: English Heritage Fort Cumberland Fort Cumberland Road Eastney Portsmouth PO4 9LD January 2009 Ref: 53111.03mmm Wessex Archaeology Limited 2009 Wessex Archaeology Limited is a Registered Charity No.287786 Iona II Archaeological Report Wessex Archaeology Ref: 53111.03mmm IONA II, OFF LUNDY ISLAND, NORTH DEVON DESIGNATED SITE ASSESSMENT: ARCHAEOLOGICAL REPORT Ref: 53111.03mmm Summary Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by English Heritage to undertake a Designated Site Assessment of the Iona II, a designated wreck located off Lundy Island, North Devon. The work was undertaken as part of the Contract for Archaeological Services in Relation to the Protection of Wrecks Act (1973). The Iona II is a paddle steamer built on the Clyde in Scotland in 1863 as a cross-Clyde ferry that was subsequently sold to an agent of the Confederate Government of the Southern States of America, which was at the time engaged in a civil war with the northern Federal States. The Iona II set sail for America in January 1864 and sank off the coast of Lundy on 2nd February 1864. The diving operations which took place in July 2008 concentrated on assessing the condition of the wreck with reference to existing monitoring points established in 2004. Areas off the site were searched for debris, as was the area between the Iona II and the nearby wreck of the MV Robert. Diving time was limited by poor weather conditions and the condition survey of the site was limited as a result. No new archaeological features were noted and the condition of the wreck was observed to be similar to that seen in 2004, with some slight deterioration of the more fragile elements of the site. A geophysical survey was also conducted over the site, in an effort to try and detect any evidence of the suggested outlying debris field. A total of 15.4 line kilometres of magnetometer data were acquired over the site of the Iona II between the 18th and 21st July 2008. Two anomalies were detected, which were found not to be of archaeological importance. It is likely that the high ferrous content of the Iona II and the MV Robert precluded the detection of smaller anomalies in the vicinity of the two wrecks. A limited desk-based assessment, conducted after the diving operations had been completed, has shown that there are a number of sources of primary data regarding the Iona II which may be of interest for further research. i Iona II Archaeological Report Wessex Archaeology Ref: 53111.03mmm IONA II, OFF LUNDY ISLAND, NORTH DEVON DESIGNATED SITE ASSESSMENT: ARCHAEOLOGICAL REPORT Ref: 53111.03mmm Acknowledgements This investigation was commissioned by English Heritage as part of the Contract for Archaeological Services in Relation to the Protection of Wrecks Act (1973). The assistance provided by Mark Dunkley of English Heritage is gratefully acknowledged. Wessex Archaeology would also like to thank the following people: • Andrew Bengey, Licensee; • Nicola Saunders, Licensee and Lundy Warden; • Don Shiers, owner of BCD Marine; • Ian Cundy, former Licensee; • Philip Robertson, former Licensee; • Alison Kentuck, Receiver of Wreck; • Emma Yan, Duty Archivist at the Archives Service of Glasgow University; • The staff of Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd. The fieldwork was carried out by Niall Callan, Graham Scott, Matt Astill, Simon Adey- Davies and Cristina Serra with assistance from vessel master Robin Reebs. Niall Callan supervised the fieldwork and Graham Scott and Simon Adey-Davies supervised the diving. This report was compiled by Niall Callan with contributions on geophysics from Cristina Serra and the illustrations were prepared by Kitty Brandon. The project was managed for Wessex Archaeology by Steve Webster and geophysics quality assurance was provided by Paul Baggaley. Data Licences The chart used in Figure 1 was obtained from the UK Hydrographic Office. The following notice applies: This product has been derived, in part, from Crown Copyright Material with the permission of the UK Hydrographic Office and the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office (www.ukho.gov.uk). All rights reserved. NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION. WARNING: The UK Hydrographic Office has not verified the information within this report and does not accept liability for the accuracy of reproduction or any modifications made thereafter. The material derived from the UKHO is subject to licence 820/020220/11 and the conditions on end-users and third parties contained therein. The following chart has been added to Schedule 1 Annex A: Digital use of Chart 1179 (dated 1994). A copy of the report will be sent to the UKHO. ii Iona II Archaeological Report Wessex Archaeology Ref: 53111.03mmm IONA II, OFF LUNDY ISLAND, NORTH DEVON DESIGNATED SITE ASSESSMENT: ARCHAEOLOGICAL REPORT Ref: 53111.03mmm Contents 1. BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Introduction..................................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Document Parameters .................................................................................................... 1 1.3. Objectives ........................................................................................................................ 1 2. EXISTING SITE DATA ................................................................................................ 2 2.1. General............................................................................................................................. 2 2.2. Summary Site History .................................................................................................... 3 3. METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................... 4 3.1. Diver Survey....................................................................................................................4 3.2. Geophysical Survey......................................................................................................... 5 4. RESULTS ........................................................................................................................ 6 4.1. Site Position ..................................................................................................................... 6 4.2. Assessment of the Site Environment ............................................................................. 6 4.3. Geophysical Survey......................................................................................................... 6 4.4. Assessment of the Wreck................................................................................................ 8 4.5. Archaeological Records................................................................................................ 10 4.6. Documentary Sources................................................................................................... 10 Construction.................................................................................................................... 10 Service on the Clyde....................................................................................................... 11 Sale to the Confederates ................................................................................................. 11 Voyage............................................................................................................................ 12 Loss................................................................................................................................. 13 Contemporary Salvage Operations ................................................................................. 14 5. DISCUSSION................................................................................................................ 14 6. REFERENCES: ............................................................................................................ 15 APPENDIX I: MONITORING POINTS............................................................................. 17 APPENDIX II: MAGNETOMETER OBSERVATION LOG........................................... 20 APPENDIX III: RECEIVER OF WRECK DROITS RELATING TO THE IONA II... 21 iii Iona II Archaeological Report Wessex Archaeology Ref: 53111.03mmm Figures Figure 1 Iona II site location Figure 2 Magnetometer data Plates Plate 1 Frame (MP5) Plate 2 Forward boilers (MP6) Plate 3 Grille adjacent to boilers (MP6) Plate 4 Sternpost (MP14) Plate 5 Toilet recovered prior to designation Front cover illustration Bow area of Iona II, with backdrop of magnetometer plot Back cover illustration Diver deploying magnetometer for operational test iv Iona II Archaeological Report Wessex Archaeology Ref: 53111.03mmm IONA II, OFF LUNDY ISLAND, NORTH DEVON DESIGNATED SITE ASSESSMENT: ARCHAEOLOGICAL REPORT Ref: 53111.03mmm 1. BACKGROUND 1.1. INTRODUCTION 1.1.1. This document constitutes a Designated Site Assessment: Archaeological Report for a programme of work undertaken as part of the Contract for Archaeological Services in Relation to the Protection of Wrecks Act (1973). The document