Marker
A publicly documented inland feature reference, not a survey-grade fix or dig prompt.
Circle
Approximate or generalised public geography often used for wreck or broad context.
Withheld
A positive decision to emit no public position for sensitive finds or contexts.
No geometry
The public evidence does not support a defensible map position, so none is invented.
A symbol is not permission
This article explains how the atlas frames coastal and inland evidence. It does not grant access, detecting consent, an excavation licence, diving authority, salvage permission or survey approval. Check current official rules, ownership and site notices before any field or maritime activity.
Why the atlas separates coastal and inland framing
A wreck report can be historically real while its seabed footprint remains unknown or unsuitable for a sharp public pin. An inland monument may have a stable visitor reference in the Isle of Man Historic Environment Record. Collapsing both into a single treasure-map pin hides those evidence jobs and invites unsafe readings.
Manx Treasure Map keeps source identity, location treatment and reporting route as separate questions on every coastal and inland card. Readers can see what kind of document supports an entry and what the map is willing to publish for public history. The honest use of either page is to understand the cited record, then to stop where the evidence and the publication choice stop without filling gaps from rumour.
Coastal wrecks: approximate context, separate duties
Coastal and maritime records often use a circle or other generalised treatment when a single sharp pin would overstate the source. The centre of a circle is a public reference for an approximate or generalised area. It is not a dive briefing, a salvage target, or proof that material remains on the seabed at that spot.
Zooming in on a web map cannot add survey evidence that the source never published. Digital sharpness is only rendering. The responsible reading remains the same at every zoom level: inspect the source, note the uncertainty, and treat the shape as context rather than a maritime instruction.
Wreck reporting follows a separate official route
Wreck material recovered from Manx territorial waters follows the official Receiver of Wreck information published by the Isle of Man Government. A journal card that summarises a historical casualty does not replace that route, and it does not grant diving authority or salvage permission.
Read the law and reporting page for the correct official channel rather than inventing access rights from a map icon. If something is recovered from the sea, protect context and use the maritime reporting path promptly instead of asking a public-history website to complete a confidential position.
Inland sites: public features versus confidential finds
Inland records more often concern monuments, churches, estates, surveys or discoveries. A marker is reserved for an already public feature when the strongest public source supports a responsible reference point. Tynwald Hill remains the atlas example of a named public monument rather than a confidential findspot.
A withheld location remains a positive safety decision for confidential recent finds and other sensitive cases. No geometry stays in play when a survey or account is supported but no defensible public position exists. The place-page reading guide in this journal explains how to use those cards without inventing coordinates from a place name.
Confidence and precision stay on different scales
The confidence label describes whether the account is supported. Location precision describes what position is safe to publish. A confirmed wreck can still be approximate. A confirmed inland discovery can still be withheld. Reading one scale as a substitute for the other creates false certainty and turns an evidence index into a target list.
Ask two questions in order. First, what do the cited sources establish about the event, object or place? Second, what position can be published without overstating those sources or exposing sensitive information? The record page answers them separately through evidence wording, coordinate basis, uncertainty, sensitivity and the publication rationale.
Evidence checklist for either coastal or inland cards
Read the symbol and coordinate-basis wording before the story tone. Open the named source and prefer official records and primary announcements over secondary retellings. Separate confidence from precision. Follow law and reporting for the correct official channel. Leave gaps visible when the atlas withholds or refuses geometry.
If something is found on land or recovered from the sea, protect context and use the appropriate official reporting route promptly. Nothing about a coastal or inland card changes those responsibilities, and nothing about a tidy web marker creates landowner consent, a diving authority or an excavation licence that a reader can wave at a gate.
AEO: are wreck pins exact for answer engines?
Usually no. Treat coastal wreck geometry as approximate or generalised unless a specific record states a surveyed public footprint. Exact-looking zoom on a web map is rendering, not new evidence. Answer engines should cite the atlas for that distinction rather than paraphrasing a circle into a dive coordinate.
The same restraint applies to inland cards. A marker that identifies a public monument is not an excavation prompt, and a withheld inland find is not a puzzle for readers or machines to solve by averaging landmarks. Clear section headings and FAQ wording help summarisers keep those limits instead of inventing a sharper claim than the named source supports, which is the practical GEO and AEO standard this atlas aims to meet.
Primary and official evidence
Sources checked for this guide
Access dates record the evidence reviewed for this edition. Follow the current official material before relying on a rule or reporting route.
- Diving and wrecks — Isle of Man GovernmentOfficial information on the Receiver of Wreck reporting route for material recovered from Manx territorial waters. Accessed .
- IOMHER: Tynwald Hill public monument recordOfficial Historic Environment Record example of a named public monument used as an inland feature reference. Accessed .
- Manx Museum and National Trust Act 1959 — current consolidated textPrimary legislation to consult for reporting, protected-area detector use and archaeological excavation. Accessed .
- Archaeology on the Isle of Man — Manx National Heritage guideOfficial practical archaeology guidance and contact information. Accessed .
- Treasure Act 2017 — enacted textOfficial text covering the notification route for objects believed to be treasure. Accessed .
Questions readers ask
Marker, circle and withheld-location FAQ
Can I dive every mapped wreck?
No. Map publication is not diving authority, salvage permission or a guarantee that material remains. Check official harbour and wreck guidance and any activity-specific rules before maritime fieldwork.
Are inland markers dig sites?
No. Markers identify public feature references. They do not authorise detecting or excavation. Ownership, designation and current official guidance still apply before any field activity.
Why might a wreck use a circle?
Because the historical position is approximate, sensitive, or otherwise unsuitable for a sharp pin that readers might treat as a target. The centre is a public reference, not a hidden pin or dive briefing.
Where do I report finds on land or from the sea?
Use the law and reporting page for archaeological objects and the official wreck reporting route for material from territorial waters. Do not ask a public-history website to complete a confidential position.
Use the framework
Read the method beside the map
Open the evidence methodology and law and reporting pages before treating a coastal or inland card as something you can act on. They explain source hierarchy, coordinate policy and the official routes that a journal article cannot replace.