The vessel is the most complete surviving example of a Ship from the 15th. Century and is of international importance. It was probably one of the larger ships of the period and capable of carrying a cargo perhaps in excess of 200 tons
Evidence suggests it was a merchant ship trading along the seaboard of the western Atlantic as far south as Spain. It has recently been confirmed that the Ship was built in the Basque country in northern Spain.
How old is she?
We are able to date the Ship’s construction to around 1450 and its dismantling to the period 1468-1470. The Ship was left to partly sink into the riverbed before being covered by accumulated sediment. This preserved the vessel for around 532 years before its discovery in 2002.
Conservation and Restoration, The Ship's Construction, The Importance of the Ship