Our shallow draft utility vessel Buffalo has been chartered by Bournemouth University’s Marine Archaeology team to help recover a number of unique artifacts recently discovered on the only known surviving wreck of an English Medieval commercial vessel, which sank off Studland Bay during the reign of Henry III. We have worked with the university’s archaeology team before and were thrilled to be asked to help with this historic project.
Buffalo was able to use her self-elevating spud legs, remotely operated from the wheelhouse, to accurately position the vessel and hold it in place, without risking damage to the historic ship wreck. Buffalo’s powerful 30tm hydraulic deck crane was then used by our experienced crew and, with good communication with the client’s dive team, the archaeological remains, including some very large medieval grave slabs, were carefully lifted from the seabed on a purpose-made lifting frame up on to Buffalo’s spacious deck.
Images courtesy of Bournemouth University Marine Archaeology Dept.
The remains were speedily transported back to shore where they were delivered to MAST Archaeological Centre in Poole. Here they will undergo preservation treatment to ensure their survival out of seawater. It is hoped the items will be displayed in the local Maritime Museum in Poole when it reopens in 2025.
Another safety vessel was in attendance, and the whole operation was filmed by the Time Team film crew and is available to watch on their Youtube channel. The site has been afforded the highest level of government protection, as England’s oldest known wreck site with a visible surviving hull.
Jenkins Marine Director Dan Jenkins said:
“We’re proud to be able to support our local maritime heritage, and the work of this excellent local marine archaeology team of experts”.
If you have a requirement for marine operations in shallow or near shore projects, please feel free to get in touch to see where we can help.
You can read more about the University’s wreck recovery project here:
Bournemouth University has a short video here showing part of the recovery and finds:
https://youtu.be/Plhq8liByVA?si=LG101HjaD3-BJBY0
And Time Team has an episode featuring the discovery here: