Vulnerably perched on the edge of an unstable cliff, the impressive 2,500 year old Flower’s Barrow hillfort is being lost to the sea due to erosion. As a result, it is on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register.

The excavation is gathering as much information as possible about the site and those who lived there before it is lost. This will be added to other information, including detailed surveys being undertaken by Historic England, which will increase our understanding of the site and the surrounding historic landscape. Preserving as much as possible by record will create a valuable resource for current and future generations to study and understand.

The excavation has been arranged in an attempt to gather as many details as possible about the site and those who lived there before it is lost. This will be added to information already gathered by several Historic England surveys to increase understanding of the site, such as location of ramparts. If Historic England is satisfied that there is no more information which practically be learned, the site can be removed from the Heritage at Risk Register.

Military veterans are taking part under a programme called Operation Nightingale. This award-winning scheme sees wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans taking part in archaeological digs on the Defence estate.

Guy Salkeld, the DIO archaeologist who is organising and leading the excavation, said:

Looking after our land and heritage is really important to the MOD and archaeology on military land is often better preserved than it would otherwise be, as it’s protected from development and industrial agriculture.

Unfortunately, even the MOD is powerless against the might of the sea. That’s why it’s really important that we gather as much information as possible about Flowers Barrow while we still can. My hope is that this excavation fills in the gaps in our knowledge of the site and ultimately, that we learn enough for it to come off the Heritage at Risk Register.

Craig Appleby, former Royal Engineer and member of the Op Nightingale programme said:

Being part of the Op Nightingale team offers huge benefits, both for physical and mental well-being. Working on archaeological digs enables you to slow down and focus on something positive. In addition, taking part in these excavations with like-minded people provided a real sense of purpose and camaraderie.

Daniel Bashford, Heritage at Risk Project Officer at Historic England, said:

Climate change has increased the natural erosion of our coastline which affects the preservation of heritage sites such as Flowers Barrow. We are pleased to be working with the MOD and Wessex Archaeology on this Operation Nightingale project – it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to increase our understanding of this vulnerable hillfort before it is lost to the sea.

Oliver Good, Project Manager for Wessex Archaeology explains:

Through our archaeological surveys and excavations we are building on our understanding of how people lived thousands of years ago. This hill fort site contains a number of hut platforms and these represent the remains of individual Iron Age round houses.

Our work at Flowers Barrow is vital and we are hoping that through our excavations we will increase our understanding of domestic life at that time. However, to be able to support veterans through Operation Nightingale makes our work at Flowers Barrow this year even more special for the Wessex Archaeology team.

Previous finds at Flowers Barrow include what is thought to be slingshot and it is hoped that this year’s excavation will uncover the location of several houses and possibly domestic finds such as pottery. The team will also clear scrub from the site which will allow Historic England to carry out a drone survey. This will be used to create a detailed model of the site to demonstrate changes over time.

For more information please contact:

Helen Pickering, DIO press officer on 07980 960530 or helen.pickering101@mod.gov.uk.

The Government has today launched a consultation to gather evidence on the impact of flyseining in English waters to support sustainable fishing and reduce pressure on fish stocks.

Flyseining, also known as flyshooting or demersal seining, is a fishing method involving long weighted ropes to herd fish into the mouth of the trawl to target demersal species which live or feed on or near the sea bed, such as red mullet, gurnards and squid. Many of these fish are non-quota stocks (NQS) meaning there is no limit on how many can be fished.

The practice has been around for decades but recently larger flyseining vessels, belonging to a number of different countries, are now operating in the English Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) with double the gross tonnage, engine power and vessel length of traditional vessels.

Parts of the fishing industry and environmental organisations have raised concerns about the impact on fish stocks, particularly those on which we currently only have limited data. Measures under consideration include restricting the number of vessels with flyseining gear, the power of their engines and placing limits on the fishing gear.

Fisheries Minister Victoria Prentis said:

“We want our fishing industry to thrive for generations to come and we must ensure our stocks are sustainably managed.

“That’s why we are consulting on potential measures to mitigate the impacts of flyseining on non-quota stocks. I encourage all those from the catching sector and wider fishing industry to share their views”.

Through the Fisheries Act 2020, the UK Government has identified a number of potential measures that could be applied to the fishing of non-quota stocks in English waters to safeguard the future sustainability of these species. Proposals for this consultation include:

• Introducing an ‘entitlement’ which would restrict the number of vessels with flyseining gear (0-200 nautical mile zone); and/or
• Restricting engine power for demersal seine gears to 221kW or 600kw in 0-12 nm zone; and/or
• Removing an exemption that currently allows a 40mm mesh size in a directed squid fishery (0-200nm); and/or
• Restricting vessels’ rope diameter used in flyseine gear to 30-40mm (0-200nm); and/or
• Restricting vessels’ rope length used in flyseine gear to 1500m if in 0-12nm and/or 3000-3200m if in 12-200nm.

This consultation complements work to develop a Fisheries Management Plan for demersal non-quota species in the Channel, and will also look at longer term management approaches for a number of the species targeted by larger flyseine vessels.

The consultation will run for 12 weeks from 25 August until 17 November 2022. Further engagement with industry will take place to implement any measures if taken forward. As this is a devolved matter, any decisions made as a result of this consultation will apply to English waters only.

The Artemis programme

NASA’s Artemis programme marks a return of humans to the Moon. The aim is to land the first woman and the first person of colour on the Moon by 2025.

Commercial and international partners will collaborate to achieve a sustainable presence on the lunar surface as a steppingstone to the first human mission to Mars.

December 2022 will mark 50 years since Apollo 17 – the last human landing on the Moon. The Artemis programme marks the next chapter of human space exploration.

Artemis I

The Artemis I mission sees the first launch of the new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which will take the NASA-built Orion capsule, with the European-built service module that includes Orion’s engines, towards the Moon.

The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I is the first uncrewed flight before NASA sends the first crewed Artemis mission into space in 2024. The agency expects the first Artemis astronauts to land on the lunar surface in 2025.

Artemis I is set to launch from Florida on 29 August 2022, at around 1:30pm BST.

UK involvement in Artemis

Renewed interest in the Moon – from partners all around the world – presents a great opportunity for the UK.

The lunar economy is set to take off in the next decade. A recent PwC study estimated it to have a value of $170 billion (£144 billion) by 2040. The UK is playing its part in this, with forward-thinking, innovative companies to capitalise on this opportunity.

We will be able to track the Artemis I mission in the UK from Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall. This is a major step for our capacity to offer commercial lunar communications from the UK.

The UK is making important contributions to the Lunar Gateway – a space station currently in development that will orbit the Moon – as part of the Artemis programme. Thales Alenia Space UK will provide the refuelling module on the Gateway, which will support future lunar missions.

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd’s Lunar Pathfinder spacecraft will offer communications and navigation services on the lunar surface from 2025. UK companies are also involved in some of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Service (CLPS) missions that will see lunar payloads delivered to the surface of the Moon by commercially operated companies.

In 2020, the UK signed the Artemis Accords with NASA and partner space agencies around the world. The US worked with the UK, along with other spacefaring nations including Japan, Australia, Canada, Italy and the UAE, to develop the Artemis Accords: a set of principles to ensure a shared understanding of safe operations, use of space resources, minimising space debris and sharing scientific data.

Other UK lunar activity:

The UK has signed a historic pact with Ukraine that commits to sharing engineering expertise and pledges a new package of support to help rebuild its war damaged infrastructure.

Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, today (25 June 2022) hosted a virtual meeting with his counterpart at the Ministry of Infrastructure, Oleksandr Kubrakov, in the same week Ukraine marked its Independence Day and 6 months since Putin’s barbaric and illegal invasion of their country.

After a presentation from Ukrainian officials on the true impact of the war to their train network, roads and bridges, the two transport leaders signed a joint action plan to help restore these vital links. It agrees to share expert advice from prestigious UK-based private-sector organisations. The UK will also send 5 buses from the Go Ahead Group to support reconnecting the Ukrainian public and buy equipment to repair routes which are crucial for the exportation of grain.

Experts will offer knowledge in airport, runway and port reconstruction, and will work with the Ministry of Infrastructure to identify training opportunities for airport staff, air traffic controllers and aviation security.

The Transport Secretary also outlined more detail about the £10 million Ukrainian Railways support package, previously announced by the Prime Minister at the G7 Summit. This will buy bridge repair and tunnel lining equipment, key hand tools and more than 120 shipping containers, which will help mobilise Ukrainian grain trains, currently hampered by Russian activity. With Ukraine being one of the biggest exporters of grain in the world, these vital interventions will help its economy recover and alleviate pressure on global food prices.

This will support the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allows the safe passage of grain, food and fertiliser exports out of Ukraine in protected shipping corridors. So far, the initiative has freed 721,449 metric tons of goods from 3 Ukrainian ports.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:

It’s great to meet with the Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister today and offer the UK’s expertise and resource to help them rebuild and get its people get moving again in the face of this brutal conflict.

In the UK we have some of the best transport experts in the world and sharing this with Ukraine will not only help them rebuild – but will boost the profile of UK businesses on a global scale.

Earlier this year, the UK assumed presidency of the International Travel Forum (ITF) and committed to bring global partners together in solidarity against the invasion of Ukraine. Under the UK presidency the ITF will launch new dedicated research into the impact of the war on transport and will share constructive policy advice on the sustainable reconstruction of its infrastructure.

Ukrainian Minister for Infrastructure, Oleksandr Kubrakov said:

The fate of war is decided not only on the battlefield. Ukraine needs a strong economy and steadily operating infrastructure.

Thanks to today’s agreements, we expect to receive high-quality expertise from leading British companies and institutes to restore Ukrainian infrastructure.

I am grateful to my colleague, the Transport Secretary, for Great Britain’s comprehensive support of Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression.

This government is working tirelessly to help the Ukrainian people in their fight against Russia, with the total value of UK support now standing at nearly £4 billion through multilateral loan guarantees and over £100 million bilateral support.

This government has introduced the largest and most severe package of sanctions ever imposed on Russia, or indeed any major economy. We have sanctioned over 1000 individuals, 100 businesses, and cracked down on Russian-owned yachts and private jets, costing oligarchs £117 billion.