The discovery of Elizabeth’s ship in the quarry

Over the centuries, there have been many finds of sunken ships, lost forever in the darkness of the abyss. However, some “ghost ships” carry special weight in the big picture of our history, such as Elizabethan ship It dates back to the 16th century, which, after being brought to light by a team of archaeologists, is now the subject of very careful studies.

What makes this boat special? First it was found undergroundinside a quarry. And then, it would be a very rare example of a ship of the period, which would give historians and scholars the opportunity to learn more about a very remarkable period in English seafaring history.

Discovery of the Elizabethan ship

As has often happened in the field of archaeological discoveries, the discovery of the Elizabethan ship has nothing to do with the assigned excavations: in fact, it was entirely serendipitous (as happened with the Elizabethan ship). Viking grave in Oslo). Specifically, in the month of April 2022, a construction supply company was carrying out routine operations in a A quarry in Dungenessin Kent County. Workers were shoveling the earth when at some point they stumbled upon something strange: wood shards.

Regardless of the more invasive tools, workers a Small part of the shipThe rest were buried. To avoid damage, the team then alerted Kent County Council (the largest local government body) for further guidance. The result was an immediate intervention by a branch of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Historic England.

Studies on the remains of a ghost ship

Just Historic England has called in a group of highly specialized researchers to work Archeology Wessex, the UK’s leading antiquities and heritage association. Scientists immediately realized that the remains were more than interesting: they definitely belonged to a boat that disappeared between 1558 and 1580.ghost shipwhich, for some reason, had run aground in a place which must have at that time had very shallow waters.

Scientists do not rule out that it is The ship was destroyed On what used to be a gravelly promontory or deliberately abandoned as being too old and too inefficient. Whatever the case, for the group of scientists it is an unusual find, as it will allow a better understanding of the evolution of the coast, ports and navigation along the Kent coast.

The Elizabethan Ship and Its Significance

The oak ship was built on a frame: the inner hull, in practice, was born before the rest of the ship and then wrapped with other wood. The fact that this boat was produced using this technique surprised the researchers, because it was a work that would have marked, in the Elizabethan era, the ships that would have owned it. Explore the world and build roads to the Atlantic coasts of the New World.

Clearly there is still much to discover: according to the archaeologists, the boat (of which 100 planks and part of its hull appear to be perfectly preserved) has the potential to tell a lot about the period of which very few are still preserved today.