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The Project - Discovery - Page 2 of 2 |
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| Indeed, the funds to support the project were often provided by the team themselves, there was no sudden influx of capital. In the winter of 1968, they confirmed the existance of something solid under the silt using probes. The excavation continued, using waterjets. a dredger to help remove the overburden, and airlifts.
Diver using an airlift They were encouraged when stray pieces of timber started showing up, and then the dredger brought up an iron gun. Because the gun started deteriorating as soon as it was exposed to air, it had to be sent for conservation as quickly as possible. Alex McKee radioed Portsmouth City Museum to tell them when the gun would be sent ashore, and in his own words states.
The climax to this operation came when, on the 5th of May 1971, Percy Ackland discovered three of the port frames of the Mary Rose. In Alex's book he quotes Percy as saying.
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Alex McKee and his team had seen their years of searching pay off in the biggest possible way, they didn't know it yet, but they had not only found the wreck, but also a treasure trove of beautifully preserved Tudor artefacts. If you are wondering why I haven't told more of the story of the discovery of the Mary Rose, it is because Alexander McKee does it far better than I can in his book! Commemorative Dive On 14th May 1966, the first modern dive was made on the wreck site of the Mary Rose. That dive, in conditions of almost zero visibility, was the first of many thousands looking for evidence of the wreck, and led ultimately to the ship being raised in 1982. Alexander McKee and John Towse made that first dive. Mr. Towse made the pilgrimage to the spot 40ft below the Solent 30 years on with some of the original divers, including Alex McKee's widow, Ilsa. They even used the same dive boat used in 1966: Gina Anne, now renamed Harmony.
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