When was the mary rose refitted

Both side-scan and multi-beam surveys generate data that is digitally converted into images. The differences between the resolution of these two types of survey are illustrated in Figure 2. This figure shows a multi-beam sonar image of the site where the Mary Rose had once occupied the seabed. The deep purple colour at the centre of the image represents the dip left in the seabed after the ship was removed.

This image was obtained using a side-scan survey, and when compared with Figure 2 shows the difference in resolution that can be obtained by multi-beam sonar. Note that not all of HMS Impregnable is preserved on the seabed. Inevitably, the best targets for sonar survey are ships or other objects made from metal, which are strong reflectors of sound waves, although ships constructed from timber are more often than not the most common targets sought.

Figure 4 shows how a side-scan survey is improved if the target is made of metal rather than timber, thus giving a stronger reflected signal. Figure 4 is of the Lidador , a former trans-Atlantic steamship, which sank in the Azores during bad weather in Side-scan and multi-beam surveys can be combined: Figure 5 shows a combined digital image generated by such a survey, which includes information about the wreck itself HMS A1 , the first submarine commissioned for the Royal Navy and the seabed itself.

Only part of the submarine has been preserved on the seabed. Sonar surveys are often combined with other instruments, such as magnetometers, which detect differences in magnetic properties, for example due to the presence of metal.

Sonar surveys of the Solent discovered the presence of a large buried object near to the alleged wreckage site, resulting in a concentrated investigation in that area. Divers confirmed, through the retrieval of artefacts, that part of the Mary Rose was preserved at only 11 m below low tide.

Further information about the artefacts found with the Mary Rose is given in Box 1. This discovery led to huge publicity and an influx of financial support for the underwater excavation and salvage. On 11 October , after years underwater, the Mary Rose was carefully raised from the seabed by a hoist and cradle. Before raising the Mary Rose , 28 dives were made to investigate the wreck and retrieve artefacts and human remains.

These items provided a wealth of information about life on board, and opportunities for scientific analysis. Many of the artefacts appeared to have been personal possessions of the crewmen: dice, backgammon, inkwells and quills, clothing and shoes, fiddles and bows, and pipes. Navigational callipers, protractors and tide calculators were found in one cabin, which was assumed to belong to the ship's navigator.

Similarly, a cabin full of surgical tools was thought to belong to the ship's barber-surgeon, who looked after the well-being of the crew. There, a long copper syringe was found that was thought to be used to treat gonorrhoea, which was prevalent at the time, by injecting mercury into the urinary tract as a disinfectant.

A wooden chest was found in the barber-surgeon's cabin, which contained bottles and jars full of what today would be called pharmaceuticals; other bottles were found scattered around the same cabin. Although there are historical reports of Tudor medicines, direct sampling is rare.

The fragility of these containers meant that care had to be taken to sample their contents, but without their analysis the nature of these pharmaceuticals would remain unknown. The contents of the bottles and jars were analysed using a technique called Raman spectroscopy Edwards et al. Unfortunately, because of the influx of silt and mud over hundreds of years, the results from these analyses were inconclusive and largely represented only the seabed material, rather than the medicinal products.

Much post-salvage analysis of the Mary Rose has been focused on determining why and how the ship sank. This mystery highlights the interplay between scientific analysis and historical records that is key to analysis in the heritage sector. The importance of the Mary Rose to the English naval fleet means there are many historical records about it; however, the reason for the sinking was not recorded. Before the Mary Rose was salvaged, historians debated the matter of the sinking at length.

Historically, it is known that, in July , the French naval fleet entered the Solent with the intention of invading the Isle of Wight. They brought ships, significantly outnumbering the English fleet. French historical reports suggest that at dawn on 19 July, a battle began and, shortly after, the Mary Rose keeled over and sank. However, the ambassador to the Holy Roman Emperor, van der Delft, recorded that he:.

Carew's brother, who was on a neighbouring ship, claimed Sir George Carew had shouted to him shortly before the ship sunk that 'he had the sort of knaves whom he could not rule'. Naturally, these reports may be tinged with political propaganda, France claiming destruction of the King of England's favourite ship, and the crew intimating a terrible accident.

Sir George Carew's obituary stated that his negligence was responsible for the sinking of the ship and contemporary writings indicated that his poor ruling of the ship had led to anarchy and unruliness.

Surprisingly, considering the importance of the Mary Rose to the naval fleet, there are few records about the crewmen, except for high-ranking officers such as Sir George Carew.

Of the men recorded as being on board when the Mary Rose sank, only 35 survived, and human remains were found on board the shipwreck that became the focus for analysis. It was hoped that this analysis would provide clues to the ship's unexpected sinking. Human remains were found scattered across the floor of the ship due to the action of the sea and the deposition and movement of sediments in the Solent.

After excavation, the bones were collected and washed in freshwater. They were curated according to where they were found and then pieced together bone by bone. Only 92 complete and incomplete skeletons could be found. The excellent anoxic oxygen-poor preservation conditions on the seabed also meant that some organic matter was preserved within the bones.

It is not always obvious when dealing with remains, particularly in archaeology, what the gender of the deceased was. For humans, a wealth of information can be provided by the body to help to determine their gender, by comparing skeletal structure Figure 6 :. Carefully measuring and comparing the size and shape of bones from adult human remains and comparing them with modern-day records is a means of determining gender with a relatively high level of certainty.

Although the gender cannot be definitively determined from measurements of a single bone, by combining evidence from several bones, or using this evidence in conjunction with other information, it is possible to improve the certainty of gender identification.

All of the 92 complete skeletons on the Mary Rose were male Stirland, Some were adolescents and at least one was a child, but it is not generally possible to determine the gender of adolescents and children from the size and shape of the bones, as the skeleton continues to grow at varying rates until late adolescence or early adulthood.

Gender can also be determined by analysing aDNA ancient DNA when only bone fragments or organic remains are preserved.

Karyotyping is used to identify the presence of X or Y chromosomes. Determining the height and weight of an individual requires access to the skeleton or skeletal fragments. Although bones can easily be measured, it is important to remember that bodies shrink slightly after death, so the original height of a living individual will be slightly greater than that measured directly from a corpse.

An accurate method of determining the height is to measure the length of specific long bones i. This method assumes that different parts of the adult body are in proportion with each other, and that the relative proportions between height and leg or arm length vary according to the gender and the ethnicity of the individual.

By averaging measurements from many individuals in a specific ethnic group and separating them into male and female , the average relationship between height and limb length can be established. This is then used to calculate the full body height of any other individual from that group, by applying a method called regression analysis. Regression analysis involves measuring changes in one item called a variable to predict how a related variable will change. For example, changes in the length of a long bone can be used to determine an individual's full height.

The relationship between long bones and full height is determined by taking measurements of different long bones in modern adult corpses and comparing them directly with the individual's measured height. A mathematical equation can then be applied to link the changes in bone length to overall height. The multiplying factors used in the equation differ according to:. When the ethnicity or gender of an individual is unknown, an equation can be used to allow an approximate height to be calculated.

There was no evidence from observation of the bone shapes that the sailors died of anything other than drowning; however, they may have had conditions in childhood or adulthood which would have left their marks on the skeleton. Many of the men were found to have had a condition called 'os acromiale' where the shoulder blade has not fully fused together.

This is thought to result from the persistent use, since childhood, of longbows in training and battle. The bones also reflected one of the most common problems associated with a life at sea in those times: rickets in adolescents, or osteomalacia in adults , caused by vitamin D deficiency and leading to weak and deformed bones. There were no faecal remains available from which to ascertain the crewmen's diet and their final meal s that may have confirmed whether these health conditions were due to a seafaring life.

Although organic matter was well preserved in the bones of the sailors, no substantial data on its DNA analyses has been published at the time of writing this course. There has been preliminary work, and the haplogroups identified suggest that the crew may have been of mixed ethnicity, sourced from across Europe. This is surprising, as it was originally considered that the majority of the crew were English. Stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry can be used to determine the oxygen isotope composition of the crew's remains.

Stable isotopes are isotopes that do not undergo radioactive decay and occur at fixed amounts within the Earth. However, variations in the abundances of stable isotopes can occur during reactions and processes that occur in the natural environment.

In general, the light isotope of an element will react more readily than the heavier isotope. This process is known as isotopic fractionation. Oxygen has three stable isotopes, 16 O, 17 O and 18 O. Oxygen is incorporated into the teeth and bones and shells of all living organisms. All of the water that humans consume, whether it is drinking water or within food, comes from rivers and oceans with oxygen present within H 2 16 O, H 2 17 O and H 2 18 O. However, climatic factors such as temperature and winds can result in isotopic fractionations; oxygen isotope ratios can therefore be used as geographical tracers.

Abundances of oxygen isotopes are given as ratios, e. Once these ratios are obtained for a sample, this is mathematically converted into a delta value, e. Delta values compare the isotope ratio of a sample e. Stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry was applied to samples of tooth enamel from 18 of the complete skeletons excavated from the Mary Rose.

As it was originally assumed that the crew of the Mary Rose were English, or at least British, in origin, studies of enamel from 12 British subjects were analysed in conjunction with samples from the Mary Rose. The study also included horses from Britain, since their tooth enamel exhibits similar regional distinctions.

Enriched 18 O is associated with hot or lower latitude environments. Therefore, these results suggest that several of the crew may have been from latitudes south of Britain and may not have originated in Britain. Comparing this modern enamel with the Mary Rose data from bones, was the Mary Rose data consistent with modern enamel, enriched or depleted in 18 O? What might enriched 18 O values suggest about the origins of some members of the Mary Rose crew?

Although it is difficult to say for certain that members of the crew were not from Britain, this has been cited as a possible reason for its sinking: poor communication between the crew members because of language barriers may have resulted in misinterpretation or even ignorance of orders.

Despite these clues, the true reason for the sinking of the Mary Rose will remain a mystery until more information can be obtained through analysis of the salvaged ship. A bill was a chopping blade with a hook on the end of a pole. A pike was a staff with a sharp spike on the end. Remember if possible you did not want to sink the enemy ship. It possible you wanted to board it and capture it. To navigate Tudor sailors had a compass and they had books called rutters, which contained details of the shoreline, currents, make-up of the seabed etc.

To measure depth they used a lead weight on a rope with knots tied at intervals. At the bottom of the weight was a recess filled with tallow. It was used to bring up a sample of the seabed. To measure speed a log reel was used. A rope with knots tied at intervals was wound around a reel.

One end was tied to a wooden board that was thrown into the sea. The rope was gradually unreeled and using a sand timer the sailors measured how many knots went out in an hour.

Sailors onboard Mary Rose ate well. At that time the English navy did not sail far. Since they had short voyages food was usually fresh. Sailors ate beef although pork bones were also found on board , cod, cheese, butter, peas, and bread. As well as their rations they could buy their own food and bring it on board. Plum stones were found on the Mary Rose. So were peppercorns.

They must have belonged to an officer, as pepper was very expensive. Although pepper was also used as a medicine and the barber-surgeon may well have had some pepper in his cabin. Sailors were allowed 8 pints of beer a day. In those days it was not safe to drink water as it was too dirty so everyone drank beer. At the bottom of the ship, in the hold were two big ovens. Cauldrons were made of copper with lead rims. They sat on top of brick boxes and log fires were lit underneath them.

Food could be placed in linen bags and boiled in the cauldron. Also, meat could be hung over the fireplace and roasted. Officers ate from pewter dishes and bowls. Ordinary sailors used wooden bowls and tankards. Everybody carried a knife but there were no forks. You used your fingers. Sailors onboard Mary Rose were volunteers they were not press-ganged and life on board was not at all bad compared to life on land. However only officers had cabins.

However, it wasn't unusual for foreign sailors to work on English ships; in the Mary Rose's first year at sea, she hosted the trial of a Flemish sailor on one of the other ships in the fleet, one of the few survivors was also Flemish, and others recovered from the seabed appear to be from as far as Spain, Italy and even North Africa!

If the language barrier was such a big issue, why was this standard across the fleet? Despite what you may have heard, the Mary Rose did not sink first time out of harbour. She was 34 years old when she sank, and had travelled hundreds of miles, from Scotland in the north to the Atlantic coast of France in the south, during her career. While it's often claimed that the gunports were cut too low, there is no evidence for this. The presence of scuppers along the main gun deck would suggest that they were a decent height above the waterline.

While it is true that the ship had a refit in , this refit did take place on the Medway, near the river Thames. The Mary Rose would therefore have had to traverse much more turbulent waters than those found in the Solent, so if the ship had been poorly designed, she would have sunk then, rather than in the relatively calm waters between Portsmouth and the IsIe of Wight. Did a gust of wind hit the sails at a crucial moment, making the ship unstable? Eye-witness accounts described a sudden breeze as the Mary Rose made a turn, causing her to capsize.

With the gunports opened for battle, the ship could have flooded and quickly foundered.