Grave miscalculation over cargo led to Britain’s oldest shipwreck
BRITAIN’S oldest shipwreck may have been doomed as soon as it left port, as it was carrying a cargo of gravestones that was too heavy and unstable in rough seas, causing the vessel to sink.
The remains of a 13th-century ship have been found off the Dorset coast, Historic England has said, as it moves to protect the 750-year-old oak hull, which is the oldest surviving piece of a vessel found in UK waters.
Hefin Meara, a marine archaeologist for Historic England, explained how the medieval vessel’s consignment of “exquisitely carved” gravestones – and the raw material to make more – may have sealed the ship’s fate.
He said: “It seems to have been setting out from Poole harbour and gone down about 2km out. It’s close enough to swim to shore, but, in stormy weather, it could have been fatal.
“The weight of the cargo could have played a part in it going down, particularly if the heavy stone was pitching around in a storm. Whatever happened, it’s a lost investment, and it would likely have cost someone a lot of money.”
The site was discovered by Trevor Small, a Poole diver, in 2020, and subsequent carbon dating of the hull timbers to the late 13th century has proven it to be the oldest extant wreck in UK waters.
The site is more than a century older than the wreck of Henry V’s flagship the Grace Dieu, which was struck by lightning in 1439 in the River Hamble, Hants.
Cargo from Viking-era and Bronze Age wrecks has been found on the UK seabed, but no traces of the vessels survive, making the Poole finding unique.
Experts have also found evidence of grinding mortars in the cargo – giving the site its name of the Mortar Wreck – and Purbeck stone, a material shipped from south-west England to the rest of the British Isles and Europe.
But the addition of two decorated Purbeck headstones suggests medieval merchants were trading in both raw and ready-made memorials.
Mr Meara said: “It may be that these headstones were made to order... It perhaps suggests that there was a market for these artisan’s headstones, which show that craftsmanship.”
Nadine Dorries, the Culture Secretary, has given the site protected status as work continues to study the wreck.