Archaeologists unearth boat carving at Castle Cornet

Archaeologists said the carving of a boat was unusual

An archaeologist has hailed the discovery of a 500-year-old sketch on a piece of slate as "special".

The carving of a boat was unearthed during an excavation at Castle Cornet earlier this week, Guernsey Museums said.

The artefact, estimated to date back to the 1500s, is 12cm (4.72 inches) in length.

States of Guernsey archaeologist Dr Phil de Jersey said the find was unusual.

"It's special for us," he said.

"Somebody about 500 years ago, maybe a little bit more, has scratched the outline of a boat and I guess they've been sat here in the castle, bored, or maybe just having a break from whatever they were doing, and they've just scratched something that they've seen.

"It's a very human thing to do."

The find dates back to the 1500s, archaeologists said

He described a find of this kind as "one-in-a-thousand".

"Usually on bits of slate it's things like tally marks where it's just been a convenient way to record a number," he said.