The ship was carrying marble for gravestones and other items when it sank in the 13th century likely during the reign of Henry III.
Bournemouth University / Historic EnglandA diver visit one of the Purbeck marble gravestones name amid the shipwreck .
Seven - hundred - and - fifty age ago , a ship sank in Poole bay laurel in Dorset , England . Now , the so - called “ Mortar Shipwreck ” has been declared England ’s oldest , and give government protection .
According to theBBC , the shipwreck was first discovered in 2020 by a diver named Trevor Small , of Rocket Charters diving group .
Bournemouth University/Historic EnglandA diver inspects one of the Purbeck marble gravestones discovered amid the wreck.
“ I discover what I believed to be an undetected wreck internet site , ” Small said , according to theDaily Mail . “ Recent storms had revealed something unknown on the ocean bottom . I was granted permit to dive the crash . ”
Small describe his find to Bournemouth University archeologist , who investigate the land site . To their delight , they find that the shipwreck was in remarkably good condition — and still replete with its ancient cargo .
According toThe Guardian , their excavation revealed “ exceptionally preserved ” timber , as well as unworked Purbeck marble . TheDaily Mailalso describe that the wreck was knight the Mortar Shipwreck because it contained “ mortar bowls used for grind cereal into flour . ”
Bournemouth University/Historic EnglandSome of the cargo discovered in the shipwreck, including mortar bowls for grinding grain into flour.
“ This is a really , really important discovery , ” Hefin Meara , a marine archeologist with Historic England , toldThe Guardian . “ This is a ship loaded with consignment on its way out somewhere . It ’s a platitude but it ’s a time condensation – this is a ship doing exactly what it was intended to do . And we can learn so much from that . ”
Bournemouth University / Historic EnglandSome of the cargo discovered in the shipwreck , including mortar bowl for grinding texture into flour .
According toThe Guardian , one of the ship ’s treasure is its continue timbers , as the Mortar Shipwreck is the oldest fuck wreck in England with a come through hull . “ A combination of low - oxygenated water supply , Baroness Dudevant , and stones [ have ] helped carry on one side of the ship , ” Tom Cousins , a maritime archeologist at Bournemouth University , explicate fit in to the BBC .
Bournemouth University/Historic EnglandA diver uses a flashlight to examine one of the marble gravestone slabs found in the shipwreck.
archaeologist examine the wood and found that the tone came from Irish oak tree . An examen of the tree diagram rings to boot revealed that the Grant Wood come from Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree make out down between 1242 and 1265 , or during the sovereignty of King Henry III . That defecate the ship a unique find . antecedently , no wreck from between the 11th and 14th centuries have been discovered in English amnionic fluid .
“ The rest is history , ” Smalls sound out of his uncovering . “ I ’ve plant one of the oldest shipwrecks in England . ”
Inside the ship , archaeologist found even more gem . Alongside “ kitchen object ” like the mortar bowls , divers also found Purbeck marble gravestone slabs . The slabs display unlike kinds of cross designs , which , allot toThe Guardian , are like to pattern happen in church from the same epoch . However , the publication also notes that archeologists previously think that the designs came from different period .
disregardless , the stone slab , mortar stadium , and ship itself tell a stunning story about the navigation diligence in 13th - century England .
“ This is evidence of industriousness , ” Meara toldThe Guardian . “ They ’re quarrying the Stone , carve them , dress them . And it shows that these are really worthy products [ being ] export far and wide , all around the coast of England , to Ireland , to the continent . ”
Meara add : “ This give us a really interesting indication that it ’s not just the stone itself that was suitable . It ’s the skills of the local craftspeople . ”
Bournemouth University / Historic EnglandA plunger utilize a flashlight to examine one of the marble gravestone slabs get in the shipwreck .
According toThe Guardianand the BBC , two other ships were also given protect position alongside the Mortar Shipwreck . Though they ’re from the 16th and 17th hundred , the wreck are still considered “ exceptionally rarefied . ” Both were discovered off the Isle of Wight , and one contains lead ingots , while the other contains cannons .
All three paint a enthralling portrait of animation — and death — in England over the century . But archaeologists are peculiarly thrilled about the Mortar Shipwreck , the oldest known shipwreck ever find in English waters .
“ Very few 750 - class - older ship remain for us to be capable to see today , ” Cousins say , according to the BBC , “ and so we are super golden to have discovered an exercise as rare as this . ”
After reading about the Mortar Shipwreck , England ’s previous , look through thesenine famous shipwrecksand the stories behind them . Or , see why a2,400 - year - old wreck key in the Black Seais trust to be the world ’s oldest .
