The Artefacts from the Sea project was funded by the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund, as distributed through English Heritage, and operated by Wessex Archaeology. The purpose of the project was to enhance records of artefacts from the sea and inter-tidal areas, held by the National Monuments Record (NMR) and selected coastal Sites and Monuments records (SMR) in England and to record artefacts held in museums or private collections for inclusion into these records.
The project arose fom Wessex Archaeology's experience of preparing Environmental Assessments to accompany marine aggregate licence applications. This experience clearly indicates the value of considering records of artefact findspots from adjacent coastal and marine areas in assessing potential.