LONDON (AP) — When a schoolboy going for a run found the
ribs of a wooden ship poking through the dunes of a remote
Scottish beach, it sparked a hunt by archaeologists, scientists
and local historians to uncover its story.
Through a mix of high-tech science and community research,
they have an answer. Researchers announced Wednesday that
the vessel is very likely the Earl of Chatham, an 18th-century
warship that saw action in the American War of Independence
before a second life hunting whales in the Arctic — and then a
stormy demise.
“I would regard it as a lucky ship, which is a strange thing to
say about a ship that’s wrecked,” said Ben Saunders, senior
marine archaeologist at Wessex Archaeology, a charity that
helped community researchers conduct the investigation.
Saunders said “I think if it had been found in many other
places, it wouldn’t necessarily have had that community
drive, that desire to recover and study that material, and
also the community spirit to do it.”
