An E[iza6etlian-Era Wreck. in the Cliarme[ Is [ands by Tim Dingemans
T
his was the first time the cannon and carriage had seen the sun in 400 years. To loud applause from a crowd of islanders and tourists, the gun was raised from a sling beneath the fishing boat which had carried it in from the site and winched into the arms of a waiting forklift on the quay. This was certainly the most spectacular of the many items that had been raised from the Elizabethan-era wreck. The vessel ' s remains are about half a mile off the north coast of Alderney, one of the smaller and lesser known islands in the Channel Archipelago between Britain and France. The wreck had been found in the early 1980s by local fisherman Bertie Cosheril when he recovered a concreted musket entangled in the lines of one of his crab pots. Bertie recorded the location of the wreck and returned soon after with members of the local subaqua club who found two cannon and a small number of iron concretions. The significance of these finds was not at first appreciated, and it was not until almost ten years later that the club resumed investigating the site, led by Dive Officer Fred Shaw. This time many items were raised, including a range of ceramic pieces which enabled Guernsey archaeologist Bob Bums, backed up with further research by local residents Trevor Davenport and Brian Bonnard, to identify the wreck as being from the Elizabethan era, or, more particularly, from the period immediately following the defeat of the Armada in 1588, which confirmed England as a maritime superpower. In 1993 a full-scale evaluation of the site was undertaken by Oxford University Marine Archaeological Research (MARE) and Bangor University. The project director was Mike Bowyer, a graduate of Bangor's maritime studies program. The archaeological director was Mensun Bound, the Triton Fellow in Maritime Archaeology at the University of Oxford and Visiting Fellow of Bangor University.
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SEA HISTORY 78, SUMMER 1996
The strong currents for which the Channel Islands are notorious made working conditions quite demanding. Diving, which took place from open boats, had to be precisely timed so that everybody could make their descents and complete their tasks in the brief window of slack water that lasts only 40 minutes twice a day. The site, 27 to 30 meters deep, consists of a large, roughly triangular sandbank surrounded by outcrops of bedrock. Because of severe currents, the sand is in a constant state of flux, at times exposing, at times burying a wealth of material that ranges from the humble belongings of the crew to the heavy ordnance and timbers of the ship itself. The cannon mentioned above was raised in July 1984. Although its recovery was the cause of much controversy in archaeological circles, its importance has never been doubted; not because of the gun itself, but rather because part of the gun carriage was recovered with it. If the cannon is English, then this would be the oldest English naval gun carriage in existence. Mensun contacted conservators at the York Archaeological Trust whom he had known since Mary Rose days and arrangements were made for the cannon to be taken into their care for electrolysis. During preparation for conservation it was found that the gun was loaded. This has been taken by some as evidence that the vessel went down in a fire-fight situation but it must be said that during the Elizabethan period it was common practice for vessels to leave port with their guns loaded. Later this year, the gun, which has a length of 7 .5 feet and a bore of 3.75 inches (therefore most likely a 'minion'), will be returned to the Island to become the centerpiece of Alderney Museum's special wreck exhibit. Six or seven other cannon have been seen on the site but none of these have yet been raised. A number of cannonballs, however, have been recovered. These not only include the usual round shot, but also bar shot and much rarer star THE ALDERNEY WRECK shot. The latter were intended to cut a swathe through Oxford University M.AR.E. both rigging and people, and also at times to carry & Bangor University incendiary material. States of Alderney Personal Armament Alderney Sub-Aqua Club A number of muskets were raised and many more are still concreted together on the seabed. All the shoulder arms were of matchlock type, except for one which had a recess in the side of the stock to take the more advanced wheellock mechanism. One of the matchlocks, much heavier than the others, had the remains of a pintle on the underside of its stock. Clearly this musket was intended to slot into a hole in the ship's rail. Three sizes of lead firearm shot were also found. The larger were for muskets, the smallest for pistols. One of the musket barrels had partially disintegrated; inside could clearly be seen a piece of lead shot, categorical proof that the weapon had been loaded at the time of the vessel's loss. Again, this cannot be taken to mean that the vessel went down in battle, as personal firearms were frequently carried loaded. Charging a musket was a crucial operation. Too much powder could explode the breech; too little and the projectile would lose accuracy, power and range. The 19