Shipwrecks offer vital glimpses into our past

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This article was published 08/06/2024 (854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Exploring cabins where sailors once slept before succumbing to a watery death is an eerie experience for scuba divers. Through piecing together what remains of many vessels that failed to arrive at their destination, a fascinating tale emerges of those who sailed the world’s oceans and seas throughout human history.

Underwater archaeologist David Gibbins takes on an enormous project in his latest book, A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks, recounting major events in world history by linking them to a dozen shipwrecks that he’s researched, including some he’s personally explored.

Gibbins is an internationally bestselling author of the Jack Howard novels, which have been published in 30 languages, and the Total War series of historical novels. He’s taught archaeology in Britain and abroad and is a world authority on ancient shipwrecks and sunken cities. Qualifying as a scuba diver at age 15, he’s led numerous expeditions to investigate underwater sites in the Mediterranean and around the world.

The first shipwreck in his book was uncovered in Dover, England by workers digging a shaft for a storm pump. Boat timbers, preserved in mud, were found to date back to the Bronze Age, with construction likely to have happened between 1575 and 1520 BCE. Named the Dover Boat, the vessel was about 18 metres long, 2.5 metres wide and weighed eight tonnes. A stout and durable ship, it would have required 16 to 20 paddlers, been able to carry three or four passengers and a cargo of up to three tons. The boat reveals how sailors from Britain sailed across the English Channel to trade tin and copper ore, used for smelting into bronze, and possibly finished products such as axes, knives, blades and smaller ornaments and tools.

The first Viking ships are thought to have arrived on English shores in 787. Their arrival was followed by raids and destruction of monasteries before an area of northern and eastern England was occupied by the Norse. The longest Viking ship ever discovered was 36 metres and shows a combination of beauty and utility.

In 1015 King Cnut left Denmark for England with an invasion fleet of 200 ships with which he achieved his goal of raiding the shores of southern England and becoming king until his death in 1035. These “dragon ships” allowed the Norse to explore and colonize Greenland and reach L’Anse aux Meadows at the northern tip of Newfoundland.

After covering notable wrecks such as Henry VIII’s Mary Rose, the HMS Terror of the ill-fated Franklin expedition and others, Gibbins ends Twelve Shipwrecks with the story of the SS Gairsoppa, a steel-hulled cargo ship that was torpedoed by a German submarine in the north Atlantic in 1941. Only second mate Richard Ayres survived. The Gairsoppa was one of 3,500 British merchant ships sunk during the Second World War as they transported vital foodstuffs, raw materials and military supplies for the British war effort.

Gibbins’ grandfather was an officer on a similar ship that was sailing in a 32-ship convoy at the time of the Gairsoppa’s sinking off the Cornwall coast. The wreck of the Gairsoppa, at a depth of 4,700 metres, was found in 2011 with the help of Remote Operated Vehicles.

One of the most interesting historical treasures on the ship were letters written mainly by British soldiers in India, which were being transported from Calcutta to Scotland, southwest England and California.

Gibbins says each new wreck he’s explored in over 40 years has the potential for unique insights and artefacts. By sharing his personal experiences and those of others who have uncovered our past through underwater archaeological exploration, he provides a fascinating picture of how ships constructed and sailed for trade and battle reflect major developments in human history.

Andrea Geary is a freelance writer in Winnipeg.