XPost: soc.history.medieval

mid 1200s shipwreck with gravestones informs of medieval industry
The rough work was done at marble mine, polishing done in cities.

from https://nypost.com/2024/06/12/world-news/british-archaeologists-make-deathly-discovery-at-800-year-old-shipwreck/

British archaeologists make deathly discovery at bottom of 800-year-old shipwreck
By Fox News
Published June 12, 2024, 10:53 a.m. ET

23 Comments
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY:
Fox News

British archaeologists recently uncovered eerie medieval gravestones
during a search around an ancient shipwreck.

Bournemouth University announced the discovery in a press release on
Friday. The gravestones were found in Studland Bay, off the coast of
Dorset, and are believed to have been lying at the bottom of the English Channel for 800 years.

“The slabs, carved from Purbeck marble, were amongst the cargo of
England’s oldest historic shipwreck, which sank off the Dorset coast
during the reign of Henry III in the thirteenth century,” the press
release explained. Henry III, who was the son of King John, took the
throne in 1216 and ruled until his death in 1272.

Pictures show that the grave slabs were preserved remarkably well over
the centuries, despite one of the slabs being covered in barnacles.

Maritime archaeologists worked for over two hours to bring the stones
back to the surface last Tuesday.

Maritime archaeologists from Bournemouth University inspecting two
medieval grave slabs made of Purbeck marble, recovered after 800 years
from Studland Bay shipwreck.
4
British archaeologists found 800-year-old gravestones.
Bournemouth University
“One immaculately preserved slab measures 1.5 meters [59 inches] and
weighs an estimated 70 kilograms [154 pounds],” the press release
explained. “The other, much larger slab is in two pieces, with a
combined length of 2 meters [79 inches] and a weight of around 200
kilograms [440 pounds].”

The hefty gravestones were likely intended for important members of the
clergy, who were venerated in medieval English society.

“Both have carvings of Christian crosses which were popular in the
thirteenth century and the research team believe they were intended to
be coffin lids or crypt monuments for high status individuals in the
clergy,” the statement added.

Maritime archaeologists from Bournemouth University recovering two
medieval graves slabs carved from Purbeck marble from Studland Bay
4
The discovery was made at the bottom of a centuries-old shipwreck.
Bournemouth University
Tom Cousins, an archaeologist who led the study, explained that the type
of stone that the slabs were made from has also been found in
Westminster Abbey, Canterbury Cathedral and Salisbury Cathedral.

“The wreck went down in the height of the Purbeck stone industry, and
the grave slabs we have here were a very popular monument for bishops
and archbishops across all the cathedrals and monasteries in England at
the time,” he explained.

“Although Purbeck marble was quarried near Corfe Castle [in Dorset],
there has always been a debate about how much work was done here and how
much was done in London,” Cousins added. “Now we know they were
definitely carving them here, but they hadn’t been polished into the
usual shiny finish at the time they sank so there is still more we can learn.”

Maritime archaeologists from Bournemouth University examining two
medieval grave slabs, carved from Purbeck marble, recovered from an 800-year-old shipwreck in Studland Bay
4
The slabs were meant to be for members of the clergy.
Bournemouth University
Maritime archaeologist standing next to recovered medieval grave slabs
carved from Purbeck marble, salvaged from a historic shipwreck
4
The gravestones will be shown to the public next year.
Bournemouth University
Bournemouth University archaeologists are working to desalinate the
gravestones and conserve them before they are shown to the public next
year. The school added that the significance of the shipwreck site has
only been discovered recently.


23
What do you think? Post a comment.

“The site of the Mortar Wreck was first discovered as an ‘obstruction’
in 1982 but was assumed to be a pile of rubble on the seabed,” the press release read. “Its significance was not realized until 2019 when Tom and
a team from the university dived [to] the site on the suggestion of
local charter skipper Trevor Small and uncovered the secrets lying under
the sand.”

“The continued recovery of the artifacts, such as the mortars and grave slabs, will allow the Bournemouth team to learn more about thirteenth
century life and the ancient craft of stonemasonry.”

FILED UNDER ARCHAEOLOGY ENGLAND GRAVESITES SHIPWRECKS 6/12/24
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Average Citizen
2 days ago

Studland Bay certainly kept a lid on the grave secrets within its
depths. Presumably a replacement order of coffin lids were successfully delivered to the customer. … months later.


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Duke Groundwalker
2 days ago

So, they didn't actually make a deathly discovery, they made a Grave
Discovery. Ok, I'll see myself out... 👉🏻


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Omen55
2 days ago

That would have been a better headline💀


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