In 1980, a fisherman snagged his net on a notorious shipwreck: the Royal Navy’s first HMS Invincible, lost for 221 years.
Since then, discoveries ranging from gun calibres to buttons have raised even more questions about her disappearance. Here, Commander John Bingeman, the Royal Navy Diver on the excavation, seeks answers.
The Wrecks of HM Frigates Assurance (1753) & Pomone (1811)
By John Bingeman, Paul Simpson and David Tomalin
With the thought of treasure, Derek Williams researched ancient local wreck records. His first dive at the western point of the Isle of Wight called “The Needles” put him on top of cannons, various wreckage and Spanish-American “Pieces of Eight”, all scattered at the foot of the rock face. Over the next nine years John Bingeman’s team conducted annual visits to excavate the site; they successfully recovered 3,471 artefacts. Previously un-researched archaeological finds are featured, including the development of rigging blocks, gunlocks, military buttons and ship’s chain pumps, all superbly illustrated, as well as the results of research into numerous other artefacts of the period.
9781789256376 | Hardback | Oxbow Books | £48.00
