The Mary Rose: The Legacy of a Large-Scale Excavation in the UK

Summary

The excavation of the Tudor warship Mary Rose lost in 1545 in the Solent, near Portsmouth, remains to date the largest underwater archaeological excavation in the United Kingdom and possibly the world. This project had a huge impact in the development of the discipline of underwater archaeology in the UK and abroad, and it influenced a generation of archaeologists and avocational archaeological divers who were trained on the site. The newly opened permanent museum shows how successful the project has been in ensuring long-term conservation, research, outreach and presentation of the underwater cultural heritage to the public. The displays interpret the collection in new ways to make the collection, derived from an underwater excavation, relevant to the widest possible audience in the 21st century. This paper will discuss the lessons learned from this project as part of a larger discussion in the session on large-scale excavations. It will particularly contribute to the session themes regarding funding, operations in the field, publication, presentation and the long term economic benefits of the project.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014   •
• Lessons That Count: What We Have Learned From Large, Multi-Year Underwater Excavations

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-2,02