THIS MONTH IN HISTORY
EYE-OPENER
Secrets from the deep
The discovery of a Royal Navy warship which sank off the coast of Norfolk in 1682 – complete with a trove of treasures including the jug, bottle, ship’s bell, and spectacles pictured right – has been hailed as Britain’s most important maritime find since the Mary Rose.
The wreck of the Gloucester, shown below, was first located by brothers Julian and Lincoln Barnwell in 2007, but has been kept secret until now in order to protect the site. The ship was on a journey from England to Scotland when, early in the morning of 6 May, it hit a sandbank of Great Yarmouth and sank, leading to the deaths of at least 130 people.
The disaster
