Before the list gets involved in Time period terminology next year, I
thought list members might be interested in reviewing current FISHEN
discussion on a proposed extension of the MIDAS data content standard to
include the necessary data for recording ships and other maritime craft.
This is distinct from e.g. coastal archaeology e.g. harbour installations,
or submerged sites (e.g. previously inland settlements now on the seabed)
which are both covered by the existing standard. 

The following is the latest draft list of additional 'units of information'
that might be added to MIDAS to cover the archaeology of ships. Comments
please! 

Each item identifies the concept being recorded, and the proposed
'information scheme'that the unit would be l;isted under in the revised
MIDAS standard. Issues still to be discussed are noted. 

CARGO
New unit in Monument Character information scheme - should this 
cover 'Commodities' more generally, and be 
relevant to terrestrial sites, e.g. warehousing, 
manufacturing sites etc?

CONSTRUCTION (Clinker, Plate etc)
New unit in Monument Character - again could be 
extended to cover built heritage construction 
methods, perhaps complementing Constructional 
Material.

MANNER OF LOSS e.g. Grounded, Burnt etc. 'How the ship firtst entered the
archaeological record'
New unit in Monument Character

NATIONALITY
New unit in Monument Character

PORT OF DESTINATION
PORT OF REGISTRATION
New Units in Location - providing access to analysis of shipping patterns
etc. A thesaurus covering recording of this unit is available form the
National Monuments Record thesaurus site at
http://www.rchme.gov.uk/thesaurus/thes_splash.htm).


PROPULSION (Steam, Electric etc)
New 'Motive power' unit in Monument Character 
- could this be used for e.g. industrial site 
recording as well as craft?


VESSEL LENGTH / VESSEL TONNAGE (?)
New unit in Monument Character? Units to record Dimensions 
were rejected during the planning of MIDAS as 
being too detailed for most inventory purposes. Perhaps this needs to be 
revisited?

VESSEL TYPE
= the existing unit Monument Type (in essence just an alternative 
wordlist for use with this unit of information. A thesaurus covering
recording of this unit is available form the National Monuments Record
thesaurus site at http://www.rchme.gov.uk/thesaurus/thes_splash.htm).

DEPTH
Rename unit 'Height Above Ordnance Datum' 
with something more appropriate ('Height/Depth'?). Amend guidelines to
indicate use of a minus sign for below sea level.

HEMISPHERE
New unit in Location (hemisphere is currently 
included under Latitude &Longitude)

PROJECTION
New unit in Location to allow recording of the projection in use. 

NAMED LOCATION (e.g. Barnstaple Bay, Off Flamborough Head etc) ie the
location where a ship was lost, used where more precise details are not
available.
= the existing unit Locality.

FIXTURES AND FITTINGS
New unit in Monument Character 'Component' - 
already the subject of work by the NMR Data Standards Unit. Needs a new unit
definition. What other inventories are recording component parts of
buildings etc?

List members may wish to view the full MIDAS standard available on the WWW
at http://www.rchme.gov.uk/midas/index.html. Alternatively you can get a
summary copy from the archive for this list by sending the following command
as the only text of a message to [log in to unmask]

get fishen midas.txt

(NB this is a 46kb file)

Best wishes to all for Christmas and the New Year!

Edmund Lee
FISHEN Coordinator
English Heritage 


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