Digging for Britain episode about rare ship discovery

Digging for Britain episode about rare ship discovery

January 05, 2023
Back in May UK News reported on the findings of a number of substantial ship’s timbers, including at least four large sections of hull, found at CEMEX’s Denge Quarry.

The team called in Wessex Archaeology and an archaeological exclusion zone was put in place around the location of the finds, as it was believed that further material was present. Recognising the significance of this extraordinary discovery, Kent County Council enlisted specialist support and emergency funding from Historic England.

Over 100 timbers from the ship's hull were recovered, with dendrochronological analysis funded by Historic England, dating the timbers that built the ship to between 1558 and 1580 and confirming it was made of English oak. This places the ship at a transitional period in Northern European ship construction.

The story of the rare ship featured on Digging for Britain, with presenter Alice Roberts in the studio with Wessex Archaeology marine archaeologist, Andrea Hamel, and Antony Firth, head of marine heritage strategy at Historic England.

You can watch the episode on BBC iPlayer  (from 21:40mins) Read more about it: https://www.wessexarch.co.uk/news/rare-elizabethan-ship-discovered-quarry-300- metres-coast

Photo: Archaeologist records the ship’s remains on-site. Credit: Wessex Archaeology