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Massive 15th century sailing ship that was found during construction in Wales is set to be restored after 20 years of painstaking work
- The Newport Ship was discovered in 2002 and is being carefully restored
- Reconstruction is now ready to begin once a permanent home is found
A massive 15th-century ship preserved in mud for centuries is to be restored after years of painstaking work.
The Newport Ship was discovered by archaeologists in 2002 in the south Wales city during the construction of an arts centre orchestra pit.
The ship was astonishingly well preserved thanks to being immersed in a thick layer of mud under the River Usk for around 500 years.
It was built in 1440 during The War of The Roses, making it one of the earliest examples of shipbuilding discovered.
This makes it even older than Henry VIII’s famous warship The Mary Rose, built in 1511 and partially preserved at a museum in Portsmouth.
The ship was astonishingly well preserved thanks to being immersed in a thick layer of mud under the River Usk for around 500 years
More than 1,000 objects were recovered from the ship’s remains, giving archaeologists clues about its origins
After 19 years of delicate recovery and restoration of the Newport Ship’s remains, it was finally made ready for a full restoration last month, The Mirror reported.
Each wooden section recovered was dried out by suspending the parts in giant tanks of wax.
Pieces were moved to the Mary Rose dockyard or to York where they could be freeze-dried.
The ship’s parts have now been moved to a warehouse in Newport until a permanent home can be found.
Curator Dr Toby Jones has already devoted years to carefully conserving the Newport Ship’s fragile oak, and he said it could take another decade before it is finally ready.
He said: ‘Having been on the project 19 years now, we’ve got another five to 10 years until it’s on display.’
Dr Jones added: ‘I shudder about fire every now and again. This thing would go up in a second.
‘But everything degrades and decays.
‘Our job is to slow it down to hopefully imperceptible levels, to make this last as long as possible.’
Physical and digital models of how the ship is thought to have looked have been constructed to help guide restorers.
The ship and its cargo were astonishingly well preserved thanks to being immersed in a thick layer of mud
The vessel was built in 1440, making it even older than the famous Mary Rose. Pictured: An artist’s impression of the Newport Ship
Artefacts found at the site suggest suggest the trading ship operated from Portugal
One idea suggested is for the ship to be housed in an empty department store, but no plan has yet been set.
Analysis shows the wood used to build the ship was taken from the Basque country, while casks on board suggest it was a wine-trading vessel.
More than 1,000 artefacts found at the dig site including coins suggest it operated from Portugal.
How it came to rest in Newport is unknown, but it theorised it was commandeered by Richard Neville, the 16th Earl of Warwick in 1469.
Dr Jones said: ‘We do have a letter from Warwick in 1469 saying, ‘Fix my ship in Newport’.
‘So it’s circumstantial, but Warwick was quite the mover and shaker.
‘We’re leaving the historians to run with that. Our job is just to try to extract all the information and share it.’
Among the objects found were a brass helmet rim inscribed with bible verse and a coin embedded in the ship’s keel as part of a sailing superstition.
Dr Jones and his team must now figure out how each of the recovered parts fit together so reconstruction can begin when a place is found for the Newport Ship.
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