Southend shipwreck shoe find could give clues about sailors' lives

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Divers exploring an underwater shipwreck have discovered parts of sailors' shoes, which could give clues about life in the 17th Century.

The soles and insoles were recovered from HMS London, a Royal Navy warship which sank off the Essex coast in 1665.

Evidence of cabins and hand-made glass windows were also found during dives to the wreck.

HMS London was accidentally blown up in 1665 and sank in the Thames Estuary. According to Samuel Pepys, 300 of her crew were killed and 24 were blown clear and survived, including one woman. The wreck was rediscovered in 2008.


Southend shipwreck shoe find could give clues about sailors' lives

13 September 2014
BBC News


Pewter spoons, coins, musket shots and ingots have also been recovered during the dives


Divers exploring an underwater shipwreck have discovered parts of sailors' shoes, which could give clues about life in the 17th Century.

The soles and insoles were recovered from HMS London, a warship which sank off the Essex coast in 1665.

Evidence of cabins and hand-made glass windows were also found during dives to the wreck.

Archaeologists have said the excavation could be "similar in scope" to the Mary Rose warship.

An English Heritage spokeswoman said "We're very excited about what the objects might be able to tell us about life during this period of great change, between the first half of the 16th Century and the second half of the 17th Century as Britain was expanding as a sea power."


A CGI reconstruction of the London before it was wrecked


How the wreck of HMS London lies at the bottom of the Thames Estuary

The London was built in Chatham in Kent and mysteriously exploded on a journey along the coast to Gravesend in 1665.

Between May and August, there were 15 dives to the wreck, which lies in two parts on the seabed.

English Heritage, Cotswold Archaeology and the licensed divers will review the operation, before evaluating and conserving the artefacts.

The programme of dives is set to resume next year.

The finds will eventually go on permanent display at Southend-on-Sea Borough Council's Museums Service.


Divers say the "murky" Thames Estuary was challenging to work in


BBC News - Southend shipwreck shoe find could give clues about sailors' lives
 
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