Science and local sleuthing identify a 250-year-old shipwreck on a Scottish island
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Science and local sleuthing uncover 250-year-old Shipwreck on Scottish Island
The Earl of Chatham was once a British Royal Navy frigate named HMS Hind, built in 1749. It served in the American War of Independence before being repurposed as a whaling ship in the Arctic. It eventually met its fate in a storm off the coast of Sanday, one of the Orkney Islands. The wreck resurfaced in February 2024 when a storm stripped away layers of sand on Sanday Island, revealing parts of the wooden hull. Local farmers helped transport 12 tons of oak timbers from the beach using tractors, while community volunteers took on the task of researching the ship’s origins. The remains of the ship are now being preserved in a freshwater tank at the Sanday Heritage Centre, with plans for a permanent exhibition underway. The island has recorded around 270 shipwrecks over the centuries.
Researchers revealed on Wednesday that the ship was once a British Royal Navy frigate named HMS Hind, built in 1749, which served in the American War of Independence before being repurposed as a whaling ship in the Arctic. It eventually met its fate in a storm off the coast of Sanday, one of the Orkney Islands.
Ben Saunders, senior marine archaeologist at Wessex Archaeology, described the discovery as the result of both scientific precision and community spirit.
“I’d call it a lucky ship — even though it sank,” said Saunders. “In many other locations, such a find might not have received the same local interest or commitment to investigate and preserve it.”
Revealed After Centuries
The wreck resurfaced in February 2024 when a storm stripped away layers of sand on Sanday Island, revealing parts of the wooden hull. Home to just 500 residents and a long maritime history, the island has recorded around 270 shipwrecks over the centuries.
Local farmers helped transport 12 tons of oak timbers from the beach using tractors, while community volunteers took on the task of researching the ship’s origins.
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“It was a great experience — everyone came together,” said community researcher Sylvia Thorne. “Now, many are becoming deeply engaged and quite knowledgeable about it.”
Using dendrochronology — the method of dating wood through tree rings — scientists determined the timber originated from southern England in the mid-1700s. This coincided with a period when Britain began keeping detailed maritime records, offering valuable leads.
By eliminating non-British ships and others inconsistent with the location or size, researchers were left with just a few possible identities. The Earl of Chatham emerged as the most plausible.
A Ship of War and Whales
Initially commissioned as the HMS Hind, the ship participated in major battles during the Seven Years’ War, including the sieges of Louisbourg and Quebec. In the 1770s, it escorted convoys during Britain’s efforts to retain control over the American colonies.
Decommissioned and sold in 1784, it was renamed the Earl of Chatham and used in the booming Arctic whaling industry. By 1787, the vessel was one of 120 London-based whaling ships operating in the Greenland Sea. But in 1788, it was wrecked during a storm off Sanday. Remarkably, all 56 crew members survived — reinforcing its reputation for good fortune, said Saunders.
Preservation and Pride
The remains of the ship are now being preserved in a freshwater tank at the Sanday Heritage Centre, with plans for a permanent exhibition underway.
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Saunders praised the strong local involvement: “This discovery, recovery, and preservation are all thanks to the people of Sanday. Their enthusiasm and sense of ownership made it possible.”
Locals see the wreck not just as a historical artifact, but as a living connection to their seafaring roots — and a sign of more discoveries to come as climate change reshapes coastal landscapes.
“One of the most powerful takeaways from this project,” said community researcher Ruth Peace, “is realizing how much of Sanday’s past remains all around us — sometimes visible, sometimes just beneath the surface.”
Source: Agency
250-year-old shipwreck discovered on Scottish island
A schoolboy going for a run found the ribs of a wooden ship poking through the dunes of a remote Scottish beach. It sparked a hunt by archaeologists, scientists and local historians to uncover its story. Researchers announced Wednesday that the vessel is very likely the Earl of Chatham, an 18th-century warship that saw action in the American War of Independence. Around 270 shipwrecks have been recorded around the 20-square mile (50-square-kilometer) island since the 15th century, researchers say. It was discovered in February 2024 after a storm swept away sand covering it on Sanday, one of the rugged Orkney Islands that lie off Scotland’s northern tip. It is the last one left on the island of 500 people, whose history is bound up with the sea and its dangers, the researchers say, and they are trying to find out what happened to the ship before it was found on the beach in the early 1990s. It helped Britain control the sieges of Canada from France during the 1750s and 70s.
In this image provided by Wessex Archaeology, the Sanday Wreck timbers are seen before being placed in a freshwater tank at the Sanday Heritage Centre, on Orkney, Sept 23, 2024. (Fionn McArthur/Wessex Archaeology via AP)
In this image provided by Wessex Archaeology, the Sanday Wreck timbers are seen before being placed in a freshwater tank at the Sanday Heritage Centre, on Orkney, Sept 23, 2024. (Fionn McArthur/Wessex Archaeology via AP)
In this image provided by Wessex Archaeology, the Sanday Wreck timbers are seen before being placed in a freshwater tank at the Sanday Heritage Centre, on Orkney, Sept 23, 2024. (Fionn McArthur/Wessex Archaeology via AP)
LONDON — When a schoolboy going for a run found the ribs of a wooden ship poking through the dunes of a remote Scottish beach, it sparked a hunt by archaeologists, scientists and local historians to uncover its story.
Through a mix of high-tech science and community research, they have an answer. Researchers announced Wednesday that the vessel is very likely the Earl of Chatham, an 18th-century warship that saw action in the American War of Independence before a second life hunting whales in the Arctic — and then a stormy demise.
“I would regard it as a lucky ship, which is a strange thing to say about a ship that’s wrecked,” said Ben Saunders, senior marine archaeologist at Wessex Archaeology, a charity that helped community researchers conduct the investigation.
“I think if it had been found in many other places, it wouldn’t necessarily have had that community drive, that desire to recover and study that material, and also the community spirit to do it,” Saunders said.
The wreck was discovered in February 2024 after a storm swept away sand covering it on Sanday, one of the rugged Orkney Islands that lie off Scotland’s northern tip.
It excited interest on the island of 500 people, whose history is bound up with the sea and its dangers. Around 270 shipwrecks have been recorded around the 20-square-mile (50-square-kilometer) island since the 15th century.
Local farmers used their tractors and trailers to haul the 12 tons of oak timbers off the beach, before local researchers set to work trying to identify it.
“That was really good fun, and it was such a good feeling about the community – everybody pulling together to get it back,” said Sylvia Thorne, one of the island’s community researchers. “Quite a few people are really getting interested in it and becoming experts.”
Dendrochronology — the science of dating wood from tree rings — showed the timber came from southern England in the middle of the 18th century. That was one bit of luck, Saunders said, because it coincides with “the point where British bureaucracy’s really starting to kick off” and detailed records were being kept.
“And so we can then start to look at the archive evidence that we have for the wrecks in Orkney,” Saunders said. “It becomes a process of elimination.
“You remove ones that are Northern European as opposed to British, you remove wrecks that are too small or operating out of the north of England and you really are down to two or three … and Earl of Chatham is the last one left.”
Further research found that before it was the Earl of Chatham, the ship was HMS Hind, a 24-gun Royal Navy frigate built in Chichester on England’s south coast in 1749.
Its military career saw it play a part in the expansion — and contraction — of the British Empire. It helped Britain wrest control of Canada from France during the sieges of Louisbourg and Quebec in the 1750s, and in the 1770s served as a convoy escort during Britain’s failed effort to hold onto its American colonies.
Sold off by the navy in 1784 and renamed, the vessel became a whaling ship, hunting the huge mammals in the Arctic waters off Greenland.
Whale oil was an essential fuel of the Industrial Revolution, used to lubricate machinery, soften fabric and light city streets. Saunders said that in 1787 there were 120 London-based whaling ships in the Greenland Sea, the Earl of Chatham among them.
A year later, while heading out to the whaling ground, it was wrecked in bad weather off Sanday. All 56 crew members survived — more evidence, Saunders says, that this was a vessel blessed with luck.
The ship’s timbers are being preserved in a freshwater tank at the Sanday Heritage Centre while plans are discussed to put it on permanent display.
Saunders said that the project is a model of community involvement in archaeology.
“The community have been so keen, have been so desirous to be involved and to find out things to learn, and they’re so proud of it. It’s down to them it was discovered, it’s down to them it was recovered and it’s been stabilized and been protected,” he said.
For locals, it’s a link to the island’s maritime past — and future. Finding long-buried wrecks could become more common as climate change alters the wind patterns around Britain and reshapes the coastline.
“One of the biggest things I’ve got out of this project is realizing how much the past in Sanday is just constantly with you — either visible or just under the surface,” said Ruth Peace, another community researcher.