Archaeology

A new museum is planned to house the preserved remains of Henry VIII favourite ship.

The aim is to build over the existing museum. On its anticipated completion, it will allow visitors a real experience of life on a Tudor war ship. Built in the shape of the ship, it will house the real hull on one side with a replica hull on the other. Here, finds from the ship will be displayed, recreating their positioning on the ship at the time of its rediscovery.

Unique and innovative, this imaginative re modelling will allow visitors to see 70% of the ships finds compared to the current 6%. It will also allow them to experience the finds in context rather than in isolation in a display case, making the whole Mary Rose experience more meaningful.

Finds include many mundane items from the period whose survival is unique such as staved wood tankards, ointment canisters, and even a velvet flat cap of a similar style to the one famously worn by Henry VIII.

The museum is still in the planning stages but it is hoped that work will begin in 2009 for a 2011 completion date.