People have been messing about in boats for thousands of years. Either by accident or design, many boats and ships have ended up on the shore or seabed. Shipwrecks can be very complicated things to understand, because they represent such a mix of technology and tradition in their construction, and of equipment, cargo and personal possessions in their contents. The stories they tell can be close to home, or of far off lands, and their last journeys range from the everyday to the extraordinary.
Latest shipwrecks added to our blog:
- Four videos exploring shipwrecks dived by Wessex Archaeology in support of the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 are now online. The videos, available on YouTube, explore the sites of the Wheel Wreck, HMS/m Holland V submarine, HMS/m A1 submarine and HMS Drake which lies in Irish waters. They were made by Jenny Austin and Alex [...] - In March 2009, at the request of Historic Scotland, Wessex Archaeology’s dive team investigated the wreck of the Iona I, a paddle steamer lost in 1862 in the Inner Clyde Estuary near Greenock. The Iona I was built on the Clyde in 1855 by Glaswegian shipbuilders J. & G. Thomson. Dubbed, the ‘Queen of the [...] - Documentary evidence suggests that this is the wreck of a wooden steamship, built no later than 1862. The results from Wessex Archaeology’s geophysical and dive surveys have narrowed the identification of the vessel and suggest that it is either the Lioness or the Florence: both steamships with single boilers. The wreck of the vessel includes [...] - An interim report on the Princes Channel Wreck, also known as the Gresham Ship, has been published in Post-Medieval Archaeology. The Princes Channel Wreck is a medium-sized armed merchant ship found in the Thames in 2003. We carried out a series of investigations that resulted in the recovery of the surviving hull structure and a [...] - The remains of an unidentified wreck broken in two parts and lying on the port side. The dimensions of the wreck and surrounding debris scatter measures 76m x 16m. The shipwreck is lying in 27m of water and is located to the SW of Littlehampton, West Sussex. In August 2002 the site was surveyed with [...] - Recent work by Wessex Archaeology in the Thames Estuary has been captured in two BBC programmes Thames Shipwrecks: a race against time. The programmes have been produced by Touch Productions and broadcast on BBC2 on Tuesday 26 August and Tuesday 2 September 2008. The programmes examine a series of wrecks within the main navigation channels [...] - Commonly known as the “Bottle Wreck”, this site mainly consists of a mound of cargo, since the vessel itself is badly deteriorated. Secondary sources have characterised this wreck as a small sailing coaster or barge with at least two masts. It carried a cargo of cast-iron pipes, beer (in barrels and bottles), and a general [...] - This is the wreck of an unknown steam trawler, probably dating to the first quarter of the 20th century. The vessel is lying on the starboard side and although most of its structure is absent, part of a funnel is visible on the seabed, together with an iron propeller and winch. The site is situated [...] - Documentary research and geophysical data have identified this wreck as the Belgian steamer Concha, built in 1877. The vessel sank after colliding with the steamer Saint Filians. The Concha‘s valuable cargo of tin and copper ore was salvaged shortly after its sinking, but the iron ore cargo still remains in and around the wreck site. [...] - This wreck is the remains of the Umba, an early 20th century merchant vessel that was torpedoed by a German submarine in 1918. The wreck is also commonly known as the “Gun Wreck” after a Russian 6 pounder gun was found mounted on the poop. The site is located 5.5nm south of Hastings, just to [...] - The Swash Channel wreck was discovered in 2004 during a geophysical survey by Wessex Archaeology in advance of dredging to deepen the approach to Poole Harbour. The wreck lies in approximately 6-9 metres of water with its long axis orientated north-east to south-west. The site is part of the side of an unknown vessel, with [...] - In August 2002, Wessex Archaeology carried out a sidescan sonar and magnetometer survey of this unnamed site, south of Hastings, East Sussex. The site was located using data obtained from the UKHO. There was no dive survey due to adverse weather conditions. The wreck has a significant magnetic signature, suggesting it is constructed from a [...] - This is the wreck of the Devon Coast, an early 20th century three-masted steamer that sank in 1908 after a collision with another steamer, Jeanie. Locally the site is known as the “Stone Boat” due to the cargo of cement it was transporting. However it has now been identified as the Devon Coast after a [...] - This unidentified vessel is known as the “Portland Stone Wreck” and is most likely the remains of a sailing barge or barge-like vessel that sank in the second half of the 19th century. Little of the vessel is visible above the seabed, however the lower sections of the hull are likely to be preserved under [...] - The true name of the Tal-Y-Bont wreck is unknown, but it was probably a 700-ton Genoese merchant ship lost in 1709 while carrying a cargo that included carrara marble blocks and paper. The wreck takes its name from the Tal-Y-Bont beach area in Cardigan Bay where it was found in 1978 by a group of [...]
People have been messing about in boats for thousands of years. Either by accident or design, many boats and ships have ended up on the shore or seabed. Shipwrecks can be very complicated things to understand, because they represent such a mix of technology and tradition in their construction, and of equipment, cargo and personal possessions in their contents. The stories they tell can be close to home, or of far off lands, and their last journeys range from the everyday to the extraordinary.