Wreck found on beach given protected status

AN ANCIENT shipwreck found on mudflats in Kent by local volunteers has been given protected status by Historic England.

The Tudor wreck was discovered at Tankerton Beach, near Whitstable, by members of a local history and archaeology group who spotted timbers of the ship appearing out of the sand.

An excavation is under way in which volunteers hope to uncover evidence of the ship’s cargo and personal effects belonging to the men who sailed in her.

They have already found a bit of pot, a wooden spoon and an unidentified object believed to be wood or bone, wrapped in leather.

Experts from Wessex Archaeology, with the help of volunteers from Timescapes, the local group, surveyed the exposed remains, measuring 45ft by 18ft, and said the ship was “incredibly sturdy”.

Mark Harrison, the director of Timescapes, said: “Our group of volunteers was looking for exploded Second World War pillboxes along the Kent coast. Adjacent to a lump of exploded concrete, we were amazed to see the timbers of a ship appearing out of the sand.”

He said he was hoping to find evidence of tokens issued by merchants which might help identify what the ship was used for.

Samples revealed one oak plank came from woodland in southern Britain and was felled in 1531, while other oak samples were tentatively dated to the 16th century.

The wreck has been listed as a protected site by the culture department on the advice of Historic England because it is the only known surviving Tudor wreck in south-east England.