Since the wrecking of Invincible in 1758, Horse Tail Sands has moved southwards by 700m, leaving the site on the very edge of the sand bank. This exposure of the wreck is due to the natural migration of the sand bank, Horse Tail Sands. Large areas continue to uncover at an alarming rate, caused by the shifting sands. Pascoe 2015 original site plan by John BingemanĪ key driver for the funding was irreversible damage occurring to the site. In fact, the maintenance of this Class was one of the drivers of the industrialisation of the dockyards and, in turn, for the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom (Pascoe 2014 Bingeman 2010). Later, under the British, she was the first ship to be fitted with an iron hearth to replace the centuries old brick galley and flintlock firing mechanisms were fitted to her guns. The French had invested new technologies in her whereas most ships of the period were constructed of wood, HMS Invincible was built with 200 iron knees. By the Battle of Trafalgar over three-quarters of the Royal Navy's ships-of-the-line were 74-gun vessels of the French design. Her special design, unique lines and 74 gun capacity were copied and her Class became the backbone of the Royal Navy's fleet right up to the end of the sailing Navy and the beginning of the age of steam, marked in the United Kingdom by the launch of HMS Warrior in 1860. Of international importance, HMS Invincible's build was ahead of her time. Invincible was built by the French in 1744 and captured by the British on the 3rd May 1747, her remains are highly significant both historically and archaeologically for the following reasons: Many, though, are now part of Diving Deep, a major exhibition at the NMRN in Portsmouth. Some artefacts from the final season are still in conservation at our Archaeological Centre in Poole, such as the cutwater. In 2019, we carried out 447 dives, spending a total of 37,628 minutes below the surface. We carried out 661 dives equating 57,889 minutes on the seabed. In 2018 we dived for 47 days with the same number of people. In 2017 we carried out 350 dives between 9 staff divers and volunteers over 25 days equating to 21,682 minutes underwater. It was thanks to a Heritage Lottery grant of £360,000 that we were able to carry out a third and final excavation season in 2019. The excavation took place over three dive seasons. We are indebted to Serving and ex-Service volunteers who helped us in this important phase of the project alongside many disadvantaged youngsters. Our partners are Bournemouth University, National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) and Dan Pascoe of Pascoe Archaeological Services. In 2016 MAST received a £2 million grant for the rescue excavation, recovery, conservation and public display of material from the wreck of HMS Invincible (1744).
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