Moor Sand and Salcombe B Conservation Statement and Management Plan
Authors: Cousins, T.
Publisher: Historic England
Abstract:The Moor Sands and Salcombe B wreck site(s) are the remains of one or more Bronze Age Wrecks located off Moor Sand between Prawle Point and the Salcombe Estuary. The Moor Sand was discovered in late 1977 revealing eight Bronze Age tools and weapons with the suggestion of a larger cache nearby, however only limited finds were recovered and with the death of Keith Muckelroy the project came to a halt in 1982. In 2000 Neville Oldham of South West Maritime Archaeological Group was granted a survey after the team discovered a large concentration on Bronze Age material to the east of the 17th century cannon site. This site, Salcombe B, revealed material including gold jewellery and an object identified by the British Museum as an instrumento con immanicatura a cannone, providing the first secure context in Britain for a Bronze Age object of Mediterranean. Another cache of Bronze Age material was discovered in 2009 including copper, tin and gold, probably representing part of the cargo of the vessel (SWMAG, 2009) or a separate site. A leaf sword recovered in 2008 was thought to date to the Ewart Park Period (800-700BC) making it different to the other material recovered from the two sites which has been dated to the Penard Period (1275 – 1140 BC) suggesting that there may be more than one site, however leaf swords were in use from as early as the Wilburton complex (1140 – 1020BC). A Ballintober Sword dating to the Penard Phase (1200-1000BC) has also been recovered from the site. It has not been fully established if there is more than one Bronze Age Wreck within the Protected Zone.
Moor Sand was designated in 1978, the current designation extends for a radius of 300m around position: 50°12.736N 3°44.402W (WGS84). The sites are also partially within the protected area of the Salcombe Cannon Site which extends for a radius of 250m around position: 50° 12.732’N 03° 44.748'W (WGS 84).
This Conservation Statement and Management Plan has been produced to enable local, regional and national stakeholder involvement in Historic England’s aspirations for the conservation management of the Moor Sand and Salcombe B Site(s) to balance conservation with economic and social needs. The principle aim of this plan is to identify a shared vision of how the values and features of the Moor Sand and Salcombe B site(s) can be conserved, maintained and enhanced.
Source: Manual