What's in Plymouth Sound?

Tuesday 11th March 2025                               Tickets £3

Mallory Haas

Plymouth is a large natural harbour with a long history of human involvement with the sea, people travelled here in the Bronze Age, the Romans lived here and the Vikings came to visit. Plymouth has been an important and busy port for at least 5000 years and evidence of this trade has left its mark on the maritime landscape of Plymouth, from ancient shipwrecks and WWII crashed aircraft to marine rubbish and pollutants. Some of these man-made items have become artificial reefs which provide a habitat for marine life. However, not all materials left by man underwater are helpful so we must protect the sea and clean it up. The Plymouth Sound Marine Protected Area has more than 1000 shipwrecks, 1000 marine species and more than 1000 polluting tyres, just what other curious things can you find in Plymouth Sound?

Mallory Rachel Haas is an archaeologist who started her career working in public archaeology and is now a Director of The SHIPS Project CIC. She managed several seasons of field schools in the inner city of Cleveland, Ohio, engaging underprivileged youth in historical archaeology, using archaeology as a way to create an interest in science and history. Mallory got involved in diving and maritime archaeology in the Great Lakes in the USA and is now a commercial diver and mixed gas technical diver. Mallory is an adviser on maritime heritage for the Port of Plymouth Maritime Liaison Committee (PPMLC) and sits on the board of IMASS, the organising committee for the International Shipwreck Conference.