The Iona II Dive Trail, Building Relationships Through the Protection and Management of Marine Heritage

Abstract

The Iona II Dive Trail is an example of the developing relationships surrounding groups working together to preserve wrecks for the future. The United Kingdom (U.K.) government service Historic England commissioned Wessex Archaeology, a U.K.-based commercial archaeology company, to develop the dive trail in conjunction with the U.K. diving community to encourage responsible access, an enhanced visitor experience and public engagement with the care and management of U.K. Protected Wrecks. We (the authors) are the Wessex Archaeology project employees; Victoria Cooper was the project manager and Peta Knott was the project archaeologist. The paddle steamer Iona II was lost off Lundy Island, U.K., in 1864 after setting sail to become a blockade runner in the American Civil War. The wreck's history since its rediscovery in 1976 demonstrates the change in attitude to marine heritage from recreational divers, archaeologists and government heritage managers, and the evolution of relationships between these groups.