Further layers of soft silt covered the site during the 18th and 19th centuries, but frequent changes in the tidal patterns and currents in the Solent occasionally exposed some of the timbers, leading to its accidental rediscovery in 1836 and aiding in locating the wreck in 1971.
John Deane ceased working on the wreck in 1836, but returned in 1840 with new, more destructive methods.
John Deane ceased working on the wreck in 1836, but returned in 1840 with new, more destructive methods.
Newspaper reports on Deane's diving operations in October 1840 report that the ship was clinker built, but since the sterncastle is the only part of the ship with this feature, an alternative explanation has been suggested: Deane did not penetrate the hard shelly layer that covered most of the ship, but managed only to get into remains of the sterncastle that today no longer exist.
In February 1966 a chart from 1841 was found that marked the positions of the Mary Rose and several other wrecks.
The Merchant Shipping Act of 1894 also stipulated that any objects raised from a wreck should be auctioned off to finance the salvage operations, and there was nothing preventing anyone from "stealing" the wreck and making a profit.
The raising of the Swedish warship Vasa 1959–61 was the only comparable precedent, but it had been a relatively straightforward operation since the hull was completely intact and rested upright on the seabed.
The excavation and raising of the Mary Rose was a milestone in the field of maritime archaeology, comparable in complexity and cost to the raising of the 17th-century Swedish warship Vasa in 1961.
Despite the rough handling by Deane, the Mary Rose escaped the wholesale destruction by giant rakes and explosives that was the fate of other wrecks in the Solent (such as ). ===Modern rediscovery=== The modern search for the Mary Rose was initiated by the Southsea branch of the British Sub-Aqua Club in 1965 as part of a project to locate shipwrecks in the Solent.
In February 1966 a chart from 1841 was found that marked the positions of the Mary Rose and several other wrecks.
Diving on the site began in 1966 and a sonar scan by Harold Edgerton in 1967–68 revealed some type of buried feature.
Diving on the site began in 1966 and a sonar scan by Harold Edgerton in 1967–68 revealed some type of buried feature.
In 1970 a loose timber was located and on 1971, the first structural details of the buried hull were identified after they were partially uncovered by winter storms. A major problem for the team from the start was that wreck sites in the UK lacked any legal protection from plunderers and treasure hunters.
The excavation of the Mary Rose wreck site proved that it was possible to achieve a level of exactness in underwater excavations comparable to those on dry land. Throughout the 1970s, the Mary Rose was meticulously surveyed, excavated and recorded with the latest methods within the field of maritime archaeology.
The various types of accretions and remnants of chemicals with artefacts were essential clues to objects that had long since broken down and disappeared, and needed to be treated with considerable care. The excavation and raising of the ship in the 1970s and early 1980s meant that diving operations ceased, even though modern scaffolding and part of the bow were left on the seabed.
She led the attack on the galleys of a French invasion fleet, but sank in the Solent, the straits north of the Isle of Wight. The wreck of the Mary Rose was discovered in 1971 and was raised on 11 October 1982 by the Mary Rose Trust in one of the most complex and expensive maritime salvage projects in history.
Further layers of soft silt covered the site during the 18th and 19th centuries, but frequent changes in the tidal patterns and currents in the Solent occasionally exposed some of the timbers, leading to its accidental rediscovery in 1836 and aiding in locating the wreck in 1971.
In 1970 a loose timber was located and on 1971, the first structural details of the buried hull were identified after they were partially uncovered by winter storms. A major problem for the team from the start was that wreck sites in the UK lacked any legal protection from plunderers and treasure hunters.
Despite this, years after the passing of the 1973 act and the excavation of the ship, lingering conflicts with salvage legislation remained a threat to the Mary Rose project as "personal" finds such as chests, clothing and cooking utensils risked being confiscated and auctioned off. ====Survey and excavation==== Following the discovery of the wreck in 1971, the project became known to the general public and received increasing media attention.
In 1979 a new diving vessel was purchased to replace the previous 12 m (40 ft) catamaran Roger Greenville which had been used from 1971.
The Mary Rose site is designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 by statutory instrument 1974/55.
It was not until the passing of the Protection of Wrecks Act on 1973 that the Mary Rose was declared to be of national historic interest that enjoyed full legal protection from any disturbance by commercial salvage teams.
Despite this, years after the passing of the 1973 act and the excavation of the ship, lingering conflicts with salvage legislation remained a threat to the Mary Rose project as "personal" finds such as chests, clothing and cooking utensils risked being confiscated and auctioned off. ====Survey and excavation==== Following the discovery of the wreck in 1971, the project became known to the general public and received increasing media attention.
Besides becoming one of the first wrecks to be protected under the new Protection of Wrecks Act in 1973 it also created several new precedents.
Under the "Protection of Wrecks Act 1973" (1973 c.
The Mary Rose site is designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 by statutory instrument 1974/55.
By 1974 the committee had representatives from the National Maritime Museum, the Royal Navy, the BBC and local organisations.
In 1974 the project received royal patronage from Prince Charles, who participated in dives on the site.
In 1979 a new diving vessel was purchased to replace the previous 12 m (40 ft) catamaran Roger Greenville which had been used from 1971.
During the four diving seasons from 1979 to 1982 over 22,000 diving hours was spent on the site, an effort that amounted to 11.8-man-years. ====Raising the ship==== Raising the Mary Rose meant overcoming delicate problems that had never been encountered before.
After lengthy discussions it was decided in February 1980 that the hull would first be emptied of all its contents and strengthened with steel braces and frames.
The various types of accretions and remnants of chemicals with artefacts were essential clues to objects that had long since broken down and disappeared, and needed to be treated with considerable care. The excavation and raising of the ship in the 1970s and early 1980s meant that diving operations ceased, even though modern scaffolding and part of the bow were left on the seabed.
The substance polyethylene glycol (PEG) had been used before on archaeological wood, and was during the 1980s being used to conserve the Vasa.
Although author David Childs writes that in the early 1980s "the debate was as a fiery one", the project was never seriously threatened because of the great symbolic importance of the Mary Rose to the naval history of both Portsmouth and England. Since the mid-1980s, the hull of the Mary Rose has been kept in a covered dry dock while undergoing conservation.
In May 1981, Alexander McKee voiced concerns about the method chosen for raising the timbers and openly questioned Margaret Rule's position as excavation leader.
The dog, named Hatch by researchers, was discovered in 1981 during the underwater excavation of the ship.
Placing the ship next to the famous flagship of Horatio Nelson, HMS Victory, at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard was proposed in July 1981.
She led the attack on the galleys of a French invasion fleet, but sank in the Solent, the straits north of the Isle of Wight. The wreck of the Mary Rose was discovered in 1971 and was raised on 11 October 1982 by the Mary Rose Trust in one of the most complex and expensive maritime salvage projects in history.
During the four diving seasons from 1979 to 1982 over 22,000 diving hours was spent on the site, an effort that amounted to 11.8-man-years. ====Raising the ship==== Raising the Mary Rose meant overcoming delicate problems that had never been encountered before.
It was also decided that the ship would be recovered before the end of the diving season in 1982.
The idea of using nylon strops was also discarded in favour of drilling holes through the hull at 170 points and passing iron bolts through them to allow the attachment of wires connected to a lifting frame. In the spring of 1982, after three intense seasons of archaeological underwater work, preparations began for raising the ship.
On the morning of 1982, the final lift of the entire package of cradle, hull and lifting frame began.
By 2007, the specially built ship hall had been visited by over seven million visitors since it first opened on 1983, just under a year after it was successfully raised. A separate Mary Rose Museum was housed in a structure called No.
5 Boathouse near the ship hall and was opened to the public on 1984.
After almost ten years of small-scale trials on timbers, an active three-phase conservation programme of the hull of the Mary Rose began in 1994.
During the first phase, which lasted from 1994 to 2003, the wood was sprayed with low-molecular-weight PEG to replace the water in the cellular structure of the wood.
In 2002, the UK Ministry of Defence announced plans to build two new aircraft carriers.
In 2002 a donation of from the Heritage Lottery Fund and equivalent monetary support from the Portsmouth City and Hampshire County Councils was needed to keep the work with conservation on schedule.
During the first phase, which lasted from 1994 to 2003, the wood was sprayed with low-molecular-weight PEG to replace the water in the cellular structure of the wood.
From 2003 to 2010, a higher-molecular-weight PEG was used to strengthen the mechanical properties of the outer surface layers.
Even though the planned carriers were downsized enough to not require alteration of Portsmouth outlet, the excavations had already exposed timbers and were completed in 2005.
Berlin: Springer 2005.
By 2007, the specially built ship hall had been visited by over seven million visitors since it first opened on 1983, just under a year after it was successfully raised. A separate Mary Rose Museum was housed in a structure called No.
In September 2009 the temporary Mary Rose display hall was closed to visitors to facilitate construction of the new museum building, which opened to the public on 31 May 2013. The new Mary Rose Museum was designed by architects Wilkinson Eyre, Perkins+Will and built by construction firm Warings.
From 2003 to 2010, a higher-molecular-weight PEG was used to strengthen the mechanical properties of the outer surface layers.
Forensic science has been used by artists to create reconstructions of faces of eight crew members, and the results were publicised in May 2013.
Although the hull has been open to the public for viewing, the need for keeping the ship saturated first with water and later a polyethylene glycol (PEG) solution meant that, before 2013, visitors were separated from the hull by a glass barrier.
In September 2009 the temporary Mary Rose display hall was closed to visitors to facilitate construction of the new museum building, which opened to the public on 31 May 2013. The new Mary Rose Museum was designed by architects Wilkinson Eyre, Perkins+Will and built by construction firm Warings.
In April 2013 the polyethylene glycol sprays were turned off and the process of controlled airdrying began.
The third phase consisted of a controlled air drying ending in 2016.
In 2016 the "hotbox" was removed and for the first time since 1545, the ship was revealed dry.
As of 2018, the new museum has been visited by over 1.8 million people and saw 189,702 visitors in 2019. ==See also== ==Notes== ==References== Barker, Richard, "Shipshape for Discoveries, and Return", Mariner's Mirror 78 (1992), pp. 433–47 de Brossard, M., "The French and English Versions of the Loss of the Mary Rose in 1545", Mariner's Mirror 70 (1984), p. 387. Childs, David, The Warship Mary Rose: The Life and Times of King Henry VIII's Flagship Chatham Publishing, London.
As of 2018, the new museum has been visited by over 1.8 million people and saw 189,702 visitors in 2019. ==See also== ==Notes== ==References== Barker, Richard, "Shipshape for Discoveries, and Return", Mariner's Mirror 78 (1992), pp. 433–47 de Brossard, M., "The French and English Versions of the Loss of the Mary Rose in 1545", Mariner's Mirror 70 (1984), p. 387. Childs, David, The Warship Mary Rose: The Life and Times of King Henry VIII's Flagship Chatham Publishing, London.
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