Researching an Elizabethan Shipwreck: The Gresham Ship Project 2007-2012

In 1846, a protracted underwater excavation took place in the Thames Estuary, some 11km north-north-east of Margate, Kent. The focus of this pioneering project was an ancient shipwreck, but the objective was simply to salvage as much of its valuable, if prosaic, cargo as possible. The historic significance of the discovery was not completely overlooked, however, for at a meeting of the British Archaeological Association in December of that year, a handful of items recovered from the wreck were discussed (Anon, 1847). They included a tin ingot stamped with the royal mark (a rose surmounted by a crown); a knife with a double fleur-de-lis stamped on the blade; a roundtoed leather shoe and a silk doublet of late 16th-century type. To accompany the display, the following note was read: