Mortar Wreck artefacts to go on show at revamped Poole Museum

Finds from the remains of the oldest protected wreck in English waters will go on display as part of a museum refurbishment.

The Mortar Wreck's timbers, found off the Dorset coast in 2020, date from between 1242 and 1265.

Culture secretary Nadine Dorries gave it Protected Wreck status, shared by 54 sites in English waters, last week.

Poole Museum said it would showcase some recovered items in a new gallery in 2024, after its £4.3m revamp.

The Mortar Wreck was discovered by diver Trevor Small in Poole Bay, alongside two Purbeck stone gothic gravestones and cooking vessels.

Ring dating showed trees used to build it were felled during the reign of King Henry III (1216-1272).

Cauldrons, cups, pottery and kitchen objects were found and recovered from the 13th Century Mortar Wreck

Before it was found, there were no known wrecks of seagoing ships dating from the 11th to 14th Centuries in English waters. It is unclear why it sank.

Items from it, including cauldrons, cups, pottery and kitchen objects, will be on display in a new gallery, entitled Shipwreck!

It will be one of three new exhibition areas created in the museum as part of the refurbishment.

The attraction is due to close in October for the work to be carried out.

The project includes conservation work to the Grade I listed building on Poole Quay and a learning hub as well as the new galleries.

Beverley Dunlop, portfolio holder for tourism at BCP Council, said the recovered items from the Mortar Wreck were "incredibly exciting".

"They are such an integral part of Poole's rich maritime heritage.

"Residents and visitors will be able to get up close to the unfolding story of the excavation and what that can tell us about times past through both the everyday items on board and a cargo of gravestones," she said.

Bournemouth University marine archaeologist Tom Cousins, said the wreck has "unparalleled potential for telling us about the past lives and shipping in the 13th Century at an important time in Poole's history".