Time Team’s been given access to The Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. It’s home to Henry VIII’s flagship which sunk in battle in 1545. In 1982 it was dramatically raised from the seabed in front of a live worldwide TV audience. Since then it’s been preserved in a purpose-built room, looked after around the clock by an army of experts.
In a Time Team podcast special, Martyn Williams discovers more about what preserving a 500-year-old ship entails, getting as close as it’s possible to get. Dr Helen Geake speaks to an archaeologist who was part of the small team of divers responsible for excavating the wreck and helping to bring it to the surface.
Mary Rose is impressive but the Vasa in Stockholm (similar ship from similar era) is even better - in terms of scale of what has been recovered and how it has been preserved. The Vasa blew over on its maiden trial as the sail / gun / keel calculations were all wrong and it was massively top heavy.
The Actor Robert Hardy famous for his portrayal of Siegfried Farnon & Cornelius Fudge. Played a part in the Mary Rose story. He was an expert on Longbows.
