Aug 5 2003

By Gemma Collins, PA News

A medieval ship older than the Mary Rose may have been a Portuguese vessel captured by pirates, an expert said today.

The 15th century ship was discovered in June last year during the construction of a theatre and arts centre on the banks of the River Usk in Newport, South Wales.

Now the mystery of who the ship belonged to and why it was in Newport may be close to being solved.

Bob Trett, chairman of the trustees of Glamorgan Gwent Archaeological Trust, believes it may have been part of a fleet belonging to the Earl of Warwick.

"The ship has been enigmatic from the very beginning," he said.

Tree ring dating identified some timbers of the ship as having been cut down in about 1465 or 1466.

But later excavation led experts to think that that timber had been used in repairs and that the ship itself actually dated from much earlier.

"There were all sorts of questions we really didn't have the answers to," said Mr Trett.

"What was the ship doing in Newport, who owned it, why were the repairs started and not completed, who paid for them, what was it called?"

Mr Trett then set about researching whether the ship could have belonged to the Earl of Warwick, who, he said, was notorious for being involved in piracy.

He had gained custody of Newport from the Earl of Pembroke, who was killed in battle.

"It is unlikely many people could afford to build, repair or run a ship of this size," said Mr Trett.

"But the Earl of Warwick had his own fleet of ships." Mr Trett then discovered a document which showed that the Earl had authorised payment for "making a ship at Newport", dated a few months after he had taken control of the town. Mr Trett believes it could refer to the repairing of a vessel.

"It fits very nicely," he said. "We cannot prove it at the moment but the facts are so close it really could fit."

Among artefacts found on the 65ft vessel were shoes, woollen cloth and Portuguese pottery.

"We thought, 'Why has it been abandoned?"' said Mr Trett.

"One must assume they found it was much too big a job. There was a lot of damage it had been in a fight. It may well have been brought in after being captured by the Earl of Warwick, who was fairly notorious for piracy.

"He captured ships, and there were lots of fights going on at sea."

The ship is due to be housed beneath a glass floor in the new arts centre for visitors to see.

Mr Trett said: "This ship is the most complete 15th century ship to survive in Europe. From a ship archaeologist's point of view it is a tremendous find, but also now we are putting it centre-stage into the European politics of the time."

Now the research is set to continue in a bid to find more evidence to support the theory.