Warship opens as new UK museum
Source: Agencies |
May 31, 2013, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE remains of a Tudor warship that sank more than 400 years ago will be displayed along with thousands of its artifacts for the first time at a new British museum.
Museum officials and historians say the 27 million-pound (US$41 million) museum not only allows visitors to view the wreck of the Mary Rose, Henry VIII's flagship, but also provides a snapshot of Tudor life onboard the vessel.
The Mary Rose Museum, located at the historic dockyards in the southern English city of Portsmouth, near the exact spot where the 16th-century vessel was built, opens today.
The Mary Rose led the English fleet in battle against France from 1512, but sank after three decades in service during the Battle of The Solent on July 19, 1545. The ship remained on the seabed off the south coast of England and was not discovered until 1971, when divers noticed its exposed timbers.
After further investigations and numerous dives, including one by Prince Charles, the hull section of the ship was finally lifted to the surface in 1982.
The museum is built like a ship, housing both the wooden hull and galleries displaying many of the 19,000 artifacts collected from the wreck, from leather boots to cannons to a skeleton of the ship's dog Hatch.
"This isn't just about a ship, it's about life in Tudor times," said John Lippiett, chief executive of the Mary Rose Trust. "It is a memorial to the 500 who lost their lives on the Mary Rose."
Historian and television presenter David Starkey went further, describing the Mary Rose as an "English Pompeii, preserved by water, not fire."
Experts say the ship is the earliest large warship armed with guns that has survived reasonably intact, and has richer archaeological value than the Vasa in Stockholm, which sank in 1628 as a new and almost empty ship.
The new museum replaces a smaller museum which only housed some of the artifacts.
Museum officials and historians say the 27 million-pound (US$41 million) museum not only allows visitors to view the wreck of the Mary Rose, Henry VIII's flagship, but also provides a snapshot of Tudor life onboard the vessel.
The Mary Rose Museum, located at the historic dockyards in the southern English city of Portsmouth, near the exact spot where the 16th-century vessel was built, opens today.
The Mary Rose led the English fleet in battle against France from 1512, but sank after three decades in service during the Battle of The Solent on July 19, 1545. The ship remained on the seabed off the south coast of England and was not discovered until 1971, when divers noticed its exposed timbers.
After further investigations and numerous dives, including one by Prince Charles, the hull section of the ship was finally lifted to the surface in 1982.
The museum is built like a ship, housing both the wooden hull and galleries displaying many of the 19,000 artifacts collected from the wreck, from leather boots to cannons to a skeleton of the ship's dog Hatch.
"This isn't just about a ship, it's about life in Tudor times," said John Lippiett, chief executive of the Mary Rose Trust. "It is a memorial to the 500 who lost their lives on the Mary Rose."
Historian and television presenter David Starkey went further, describing the Mary Rose as an "English Pompeii, preserved by water, not fire."
Experts say the ship is the earliest large warship armed with guns that has survived reasonably intact, and has richer archaeological value than the Vasa in Stockholm, which sank in 1628 as a new and almost empty ship.
The new museum replaces a smaller museum which only housed some of the artifacts.
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