Programme 3
Newport's Medieval Ship - Artefacts found on the ship
IntroductionThe design of the ship
Artefacts found on the ship
The Fate of the Ship
Future Plans
- Portuguese Coin
Within the vessel, archaeologists have found a wide range of artefacts. Some of these show that the ship had been a visitor to Portugal, such as 15th century Portuguese coins and pottery, and large lumps of cork. Some of the finds were common objects that one would expect to find on a sailing ship, like a comb, woollen clothing, leather shoes and other leather remnants, wooden bowls, gaming counters and barrel-staves. Stone cannon balls, lengths of rope and rigging tackle were also found, along with part of an hour glass, which was used in aiding navigation.
One of the most exciting discoveries was a brass strap, engraved with a biblical verse in Latin (Luke 4:30) to protect it from danger ("But He walked through the middle of the crowd and went his way"). This has been identified as the right cheek guard of a soldier's helmet. Another well-crafted item is an archer's leather wrist guard, which shows evidence that its maker embossed the shape of a heart on it, along with a Latin inscription.
- Brass Strap
One final surprise for the archaeologists was when human skeletal remains were discovered in the mud around the supporting cradle.
The archaeologists found the remains of three pumps for getting rid of water from the lower reaches of the boat: one in the bow, one near the mast step and one in the stern. It's been suggested that this shows that the ship was leaking badly. Certainly, there were numerous places where the shell of the ship had been repaired and the hull showed signs of heavy wear.
9:00PM Tuesday
Repeated on S4C Digidol 9:00PM Saturday
with English Subtitles