The Offshore Engineering Society
The OES acts to promote interest and scholarship in both the scientific and applied aspects of offshore engineering.
- Date
- 05 February 2025
- Time
- 18:00 - 19:30 GMT
- Location
-
Institution of Civil Engineers One Great George Street Westminster London, SW1P 3AA United Kingdom
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Saving the London shipwreck – an archaeological and engineering challenge
https://www.ice.org.uk/events/latest-events/saving-the-london-shipwreck-feb-2025/
Institution of Civil Engineers, London
Hybrid
This event will be both in-person and viewable online.
Saving the London shipwreck – an archaeological and engineering challenge
- Date
- 05 February 2025
- Time
- 18:00 - 19:30 GMT
- Location
- Institution of Civil Engineers
Free
Watch onlineOverview
On the 7th March 1665 tragedy struck in the Thames Estuary, when the warship London exploded with the loss of over 300 souls. Today, almost 365 years later the tragedy continues as the wreck site washes away with every passing ship and tide. On 03 July 2019, the anniversary of the ordering of the London, the Nautical Archaeology Society and the London Shipwreck Trust launched the Save the London campaign, to financially support the recovery and conservation of many of the historical artefacts and remains from the site.
The London is a famous second-rate ship, identified in Samuel Pepys’ diary as part of the fleet that brought Charles II back to England in the 17th Century. Despite her historical significance, her remains still lie just off the shipping channel in the River Thames. Ironically, while a designated protected wreck, the strong tides and constant turbulence from London’s present-day shipping are rapidly eroding and destroying the site, washing away many irreplaceable artefacts.
Recovery work is currently being undertaken by a small team of experienced volunteer divers, often working in very poor conditions, with guidance from Nautical Archaeology Society expert archaeologists. However, only a very small proportion of artefacts on the site have been recorded and recovered, and time is fast running out as the site is visibly eroding from month to month. Without additional financial support and activity, the contents of this wreck will most likely disappear completely within the next twenty years, taking vital pieces of our heritage, history and culture with them, and robbing future generations of her story.
The ultimate aim is to recover the wreck intact to shore, so that it can be viewed by the public in a purpose-built museum where further archaeological investigations can be safely performed. Input from the audience, especially from experienced offshore engineers, on the complex engineering involved in the proposed recovery is strongly encouraged.
Join us to find out more about the current recovery efforts and ongoing engineering challenges conjured by the harsh conditions of the Thames.
Please sign up to join us online. No booking is required to attend in person.
Venue
Institution of Civil EngineersOne Great George StreetWestminsterLondonSW1P 3AA
Programme
17:30 - 18:00
Registration and refreshments
18:00 - 19:30
Lecture: Saving the London shipwreck – an archaeological and engineering challenge
19:30
Event ends
Speaker
Mark Beattie-Edwards
Nautical Archaeology Society
chief executive officer
Read more
Mark Beattie-Edwards
Mark joined the Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS) in 2001 and since 2015 has worked as the chief executive officer and is responsible for the day-to-day management of the charity.
Mark is currently the secretary of the Joint Nautical Archaeology Policy Committee . He sits on the International Congress on Underwater Archaeology (IKUWA) Steering Committee, the Gresham Ship Project Steering Group as well as the Heritage and Craft Committee of the Society for Nautical Research. He has also represented the NAS as an accredited NGO at meetings of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee for UNESCO.
Mark was the licensee of the HMS Holland No. 5 submarine (2005-2022) and is currently the licensee of the Normans Bay protected wreck (2009 to date) and the Unknown Wreck off Eastbourne, now identified as the Klein Hollandia (2019 to date). He has coordinated research and access to both these protected wrecks and in addition has undertaken research on the HMS m/A1 submarine and the Coronation protected wreck site on behalf of English Heritage. In 2014 Mark authored a report for English Heritage on the Local Economic Benefit of a Protected Wreck, establishing the value that could be placed on a historic wreck for the local economy of Plymouth, Devon.
Mark has worked on the Kuggmaren wreck and the St. Peter Port wrecks in Guernsey with the University of Southampton, on the wrecks in Portland harbour with the NAS and most recently with the University of Cyprus MARE Laboratory on the Nissia and the Mazotos shipwrecks in the Mediterranean.
In 2018 Mark joined the team working on the protected wreck of the London, which blew up in the Thames Estuary in 1665 and he is helping manage the Save the London campaign to save the wreck from destruction.
