Historical stories, conservation and collections updates and other stories from the Mary Rose
The team at the Mary Rose are working with researchers from the Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton and Traditional Boats of Ireland Project to learn more about the longbows recovered from Henry VIII's flagship, lost in the waters of the Solent off the Portsmouth coast.
102 tonnes of ballast were on board the Mary Rose when she sank. Consisting of broken flints similar to those originating in the Portsmouth Area, the presence of shells belonging to cockles, oysters and periwinkles within it suggests that it was probably sourced from the beach at Portsmouth Harbour.
This...
If you missed it, go back and read part 1
As part of my internship I participated in a project of ‘Experimental Archaeology’ for the Mary Rose. At the rear of the museum there is a replica of the galley found on board the Mary Rose. The galley consists...
Being a student is a mixture of stress and excitement. At times, the stress out-weighs the excitement. When, in July 2017, I was faced with the job of finding a work placement for the third year of my BA Archaeology degree I immediately felt the stress. After applying to many...
April marks the sixth month I have been volunteering with the collections team here at the Mary Rose Trust. Archiving the 35mm film strips has slowly become part of my weekly routine. Each Monday I encounter a new set of photographs, another layer of history waiting to be uncovered....
Falconry was a popular pastime in the 16th century, and so it is unsurprising that we should find some of the paraphernalia that goes with it.
One of my favourite things about working in the museum’s archives is stumbling across dark, murky images of protruding beams, barely perceptible in the depths of the Solent, and realising that’s the very same ship displayed just thirty yards away. Countless times I’ve found myself studying what appears to be...
Back in February 2017, thanks to funding from Arts Council England’s Designation Development Fund, the Mary Rose Trust were able to start the process of digitising its vast photographic archive of the material. After fully getting our heads round what was required, we recruited a fantastic team of enthusiastic...
In late October, we welcomed eight new Collections Volunteers to the digitisation team. Following an induction day, which involved an introduction and overview of the Mary Rose Trust, we commenced training on all the digitisation processes. After this, the new team members wasted no time in getting stuck into the...