Mary Rose

Welcome to the Mary Rose Museum, home to one of the most significant archaeological finds in maritime history. The Mary Rose was a carrack-style warship and the flagship of King Henry VIII’s navy. …

The raising of the Mary Rose in 1982 remains one of the most complex and expensive maritime salvage projects in history. It required twentieth-century technology to achieve what Henry VIII’s own salvage experts could not 400…

The hull of the Mary Rose is a masterpiece of the sixteenth-century shipbuilder’s art. For decades after being raised, it had to be kept saturated, first with water and later with a polyethylene glycol solution to prevent the…

One of the most symbolic artifacts found on the Mary Rose is her bell. It was one of the last items recovered by the diving team but likely one of the first commissioned for the ship. …

The ship's surgeon occupied a vital role, and his chest of tools provides a fascinating, if sometimes 'squeamish,' look at Tudor medicine. One of the most famous items found was a urethral syringe, used to treat venereal diseases…

Beyond the weapons of war, the Mary Rose held the deeply personal items of the men who lived on her. One of the most intriguing finds was a cowrie shell, discovered in a sailor's chest. …

The final part of our exploration focuses on the men themselves. Through forensic analysis of the remains found on the ship, archaeologists have been able to reconstruct the lives of specific crew members. …

Our journey through the Mary Rose Museum has taken us from the pride of Henry VIII’s fleet to the silent depths of the Solent and back to the light of the modern day. We have seen the hull, once a state-of-the-art weapon of war,…