The wreck of a fireship that sank off the Isles of Scilly nearly three hundred years ago is to be investigated by researchers and students from Bristol University.
This will be the first archaeological survey of the vessel and the very first physical study of this type of British Royal Navy ship.
HM Fireship, Firebrand was launched at Limehouse in 1694 and served in the Caribbean and Mediterranean before her disastrous final voyage. Under flag of Sir Cloudesly Shovell and returning from Gibraltar, she sank in October 1707 (along with HMS Association, HMS Eagle, and HMS Romney) as a consequence of navigational error off the Isles of Scilly.
This tragedy, which ended the lives of 1500 Royal Navy seamen, spurred the competition for the ‘discovery of longitude’ and resulted in the design of the Harrison chronometer.
Firebrand had an overall tonnage of 268, could carry a complement of 45 men and was fitted with an arsenal of eight cannon (six minions and two falconets).
Fireships like Firebrand were intended to be sailed against enemy fleets at anchor, loaded with incendiaries. They were, however, seldom used in their designed role, but proved useful as patrol or convoy escort sloops.
The wreck site will be examined and recorded during a two-week field school led by Kimberly Monk of Bristol University’s Department of Archaeology and Anthropology.
Kimberly Monk said: “This survey will contribute a new chapter on the significance of small warships to the British Royal Navy. The English were considered to be ‘the very Devils with their Fire’ since, under certain conditions, fireships could inflict more devastation than any weapon at the navy’s disposal.”
The field school runs from Saturday 22 July to Monday 7 August 2006.
The field school will consist of nine students and three instructors. Leading the team is Kimberly Monk of the University of Bristol, assisted by Kevin Camidge, a freelance maritime archaeologist from Penzance and Martin Read, a conservator from the University of Plymouth.
The field school has received on-island sponsorship from Island Sea Safaris, Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, and the Isles of Scilly Underwater Centre.