A 13th - century shipwreck recently discovered off the south seacoast of England is one of the previous shipwrecks ever find in the country . To ensure this sunken fragment of history lives on , the incredibly rare wreck has just been granted the highest level of protection by the UK authorities , consort toHistoric England .
The 750 - class - sure-enough " Mortar Wreck " was discovered in Poole Bay in Dorset back in the summer of 2020 by local bluejacket and has recently been studied in a raw investigation led by Bournemouth University .
Along with feature an incredibly well - preserve hull , the shipwreck was base to still be holding original cargo , including a cookery caldron , pots , imbibition mugs , and a aggregation of ornate gravestones .
Diver viewing a decorated Purbeck gravestone on the 13th century Mortar Wreck. Image credit: Bournemouth University
Despite the centuries that have extend , the gravestones are still attractively beautify with deep carving with their chisel marks still clearly visible . One of the slab feature a wheel - maneuver cross , typical of the other thirteenth - century CE , while the other displays a splayed branch cross , most often reckon in the mid-13th one C CE .
The gravestone were fashion out of Purbeck stone , a configuration of limestone that ’s quarry on the Isle of Purbeck on the south slide of England . Formed from the crushed clay of freshwater escargot , this rock is highly milled , making it an ideal material to craft unstinted gravestones and Gothic architecture . This cloth was attempt - after stuff in the thirteenth hundred and was exported from England across Europe .
tree diagram ring date of the wrecks ’ quality indicates that the Sir Henry Wood used to make the Isaac Hull came from Irish oak tree diagram that were cut down 1242 - 1265 CE , during the sovereignty of King Henry III .
Cauldrons, cups, pottery and kitchen objects from the 13th century Mortar Wreck. Image credit: Bournemouth University
This is exceptionally erstwhile for a wreck – in fact , you ’ll be implausibly golden to come across any wreck that dates before the 18th one C due to the harsh conditions of the ocean . Evidence of a little turn of bronze age shipwrecks have antecedently been strike , but their quality have long gnaw at out . This means the Mortar Wreck is potential the oldest shipwreck in England whose Cordell Hull is still entire .
“ Very few 750 - year - old ships rest for us to be able to see today and so we are extremely lucky to have discovered an case as rarefied as this and in such good condition . A combination of low - oxygenated water , sand , and stone has help preserve one side of the ship , and the Cordell Hull is clearly visible , ” Tom Cousins , Maritime Archaeologist at Bournemouth University , allege in astatement .
The Mortar Wreck was recently throw high - level protection under theProtection of Wrecks Act 1973along with the sixteenth 100 Shingles Bank Wreck NW96 and seventeenth 100 Shingles Bank Wreck NW68 , both come across off the Needles Channel near the Isle of Wight . While not most as old as the Mortar Wreck , two wreck sport an array of loot , ranging from cannons and cannonball to a big lynchpin and a lot of tether ingots .
Cannon found on the NW68 wreck discovered off the Isle of Wight. Image credit: Martin Pritchard
Even Old shipwrecks have been found elsewhere in the world ’s oceans . In 2018 , cut - border tomography of the seafloor revealed a 2,400 - year - honest-to-goodness shipwreck laying at the bottom of the Black Sea . As it stands , this 23 - metre ( 75 - invertebrate foot ) ancient Greek merchant ’s vessel is theoldest wreck ever discoveredintact .
