Grave Slabs, Mortars, & Other Invaluable Artefacts Recovered from England’s Oldest Shipwreck

Bournemouth University’s marine archaeologists strive to preserve the wreck of England’s only known medieval commercial ship from the 13th century that sank off Studland Bay during Henry III’s reign.

It is called the Mortar Wreck as it has a massive cargo of grinding marble mortars and grave slabs.

The wreck was found in 1982 in relatively good condition, with all timber and artefacts intact. However, its significance was only realised in 2019 after a detailed survey and analysis.

Marine Archaeologists are working to excavate the wreck from the seafloor and preserve the stone and timber, some of which will be displayed in Poole Museum’s shipwreck gallery.

The government declared the wreck site protected in 2022 because it is England’s oldest known wreck with a surviving hull.

Professor Dave Parham and his colleagues completed two dive seasons at the site, in which they mapped it, recovered artefacts at risk of decay, and conserved artefacts using several modern preservation techniques.

Through dendrochronology, they traced its timber to Ireland and found that it was the same forest timber used for Salisbury Cathedral.

Artefacts from the wreck, including mortars and grave slabs, will enable historians to learn more about the stonemasonry of the era.

Many items, such as cauldrons, pottery, kitchen utensils and cups, have been recovered. A team is working to raise the carved grave slabs and stone mortars, which were made to grind flour.

Dr Derek Pitman, head of archaeology at the university, said the ship might have met choppy waters after it left the harbour and sank with its massive cargo.

He also said that the stone was brought from southern Purbeck to Poole harbour, where it was loaded onto the ship.

The timber has been dated to approximately 1242. Before the wreck’s discovery, there were no records of shipwrecks from the 11th to 14th centuries in English waters.

References: Bournemouth University, BBC

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