First published in The Age on October 12, 1982
Guns roar salute as Mary Rose comes up
LONDON, 11 Oct. — Henry VIII’s flagship the Mary Rose came to the surface in the Solent, near Southampton, today after 437 years on the sea bed. Cannons fired and sirens sounded as the ancient oak vessel was hoisted above the water.
An artist’s impression of the sinking of the Mary Rose in 1545.Credit:Mary Rose Trust
The lifting of the Mary Rose was the climax of a $7 million project, begun 17 years ago when amateur divers started searching for traces of the ship, which was sunk by accident as it sailed out to do battle with the French in 1545.
In 17 years of continuous diving, enough objects have been recovered from the sea bed to fill a small museum. They include all kinds of weapons from cannon to longbows, the operating instruments of the ship’s surgeon, clothing and shoes and many objects of everyday interest such as pocket compasses, musical instruments and games.
The Mary Rose heeled over and went to the bottom as the King himself watched from the shore. It is believed the ship was overloaded — it was carrying about 700 men, many in full armour — and the gun ports were left open so that the sea rushed in through them.
Nearly all the men on board were drowned. Their bones were found by the divers who went down to the Mary Rose.
The hull is far from intact, but its starboard side was covered by silt which preserved its timber and contents in remarkable condition.
It is regarded by historians as priceless evidence on the history of its time and the evolution of shipbuilding.
The Mary Rose was the first British ship to mount large cannon at gunports low along its hull, a development which fixed the design of warships and the tactics of war at sea until the advent of steam and steel three centuries later.
The Prince of Wales, who is patron of the Mary Rose Trust, was watching from the giant crane which lifted the ship to the surface.
Divers made continuous checks to make sure everything was all right as slowly, hanging from a huge hook and suspended in lifting straps, the cradle and frame weighing 212 tonnes in the sea came nearer and nearer to the surface.
An accident yesterday bent one of four steel legs intended to link the upper frame, to which the hull was already tied to the cradle designed to support the ship’s weight when it was lifted into the air.
The damage prevented the ancient hull from being lifted on schedule and left it dangling just below the water line, suspended from the 90-metre-high crane.
The delay put divers and archaeologists in a tense race against tides and weather.
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