Maritime Archaeologist about to investigate the site Photo: ForSEAdiscovery 2015
Yarmouth Roads is one of only 46 Protected Wrecks around the coast of England and Wales. It is designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973.
The site is thought to encompass the remains of a late 16th century Spanish merchant carrack, possibly the Santa Lucia, which is recorded as lost in 1567 carrying wool to Flanders. However, there are some queries over whether the pottery assemblage supports this identification. A close investigation of the ship’s timbers, the first time such an initiative has taken place on this site, may provide the information necessary to reach a conclusion on date, provenance, and identification.
Maritime Archaeology Ltd, is now working together with the ForSEAdiscovery: Forest Resources for Iberian Empires: Ecology and Globalization in the Age of Discovery project, a Marie Curie Initial Training Network funded through the European Union Framework 7 program to investigate the timbers in detail.
One of the project’s aims is to reconstruct past Iberian forests and how shipbuilding from the 16th-18th centuries maybe have impacted them. Therefore, a series of known Iberian ships or shipwrecks with surviving hull timbers is necessary to provide information on the raw wood material used in ship construction.
The shipwreck at Yarmouth presents an ideal case study as a supposed Spanish ship dating to the 16th century. The ForSEAdiscovery partnership provides the opportunity to approach the site with updated research questions and support with which to answer them.
A focused on-site investigation starting now in June 2015 of this shipwreck will significantly increase understanding of the ship itself and its wider socio-economic, political, environmental, and even philosophical contexts during a period of rapid and widespread change. This vessel’s selection for inclusion within this multi-partner international project serves to underscore the global research value of its remains.
More information
Yarmouth roads wreck http://www.maritimearchaeologytrust.org/yarmouth
ForSEAdiscovery – http://forseadiscovery.eu/
Protected wreck sites http://historicengland.org.uk/listing/what-is-designation/protected-wreck-sites/
Maritime archaeology research services
Investigation of marine cultural heritage is a developing field. Maritime Archaeology Ltd draws on over 30 years of experience gained in, research and development of approaches and techniques for the investigation, monitoring and management of archaeology under water and in the inter tidal zone.
- Shipwreck inspection, survey, sampling, excavation and monitoring.
- From single finds to excavation archives we can undertake or arrange artefact, sample and deposit assessment, analysis and dating.
- Shore line and coastal management studies.
- Utilising heritage data and information to feed into broader marine environmental studies, often involving inter-agency and partnership working and the management of large digital data sets.
- Services for the heritage sector for the development of digital data standards and content and the analysis of information for aspects of marine spatial planning and management.