Virtual museum launched for Newport's medieval ship

The virtual museum can be accessed through Second Life virtual world, and gives users the opportunity to explore the ship plank by plank.

The Newport Medieval Ship was discovered in the banks of the River Usk in June 2002 during construction of the Riverfront Theatre. The ship was excavated by a team of archaeologists and lifted from the ground timber by timber.

The new virtual museum website was designed by the University of Wales, Newport,and offers an interactive view of the medieval ship, telling its story and the mysteries that are still being unravelled.

The museum can be accessed through the Second Life virtual world and the project forms part of the university's new Digital Heritage Zone within Second Life.

Matt Chilcott, development director at the university's Institute of Digital Learning, said: "This innovative digital approach enables Newport to share its rich heritage with a range of audiences all over the world in a new and exciting way. For example, tourists planning to visit Newport can now have fun exploring the area's history before they even arrive in Wales."

He continued: "This cutting-edge project in the field of digital heritage is an example of the work we are doing here at the university to explore how online 3D technologies can be used to help visualise history, and bring it to life as an effective learning, teaching and public engagement medium." 
 

About the Newport Medieval Ship:

In many ways the discovery could have been anticipated as the area is adjacent to the historic 15th century castle and has been long known as an important port since mediaeval times. Newport, originally Novus Burgus, is only a few miles downstream from the Roman Fortress town of Isca.

Unusually, the ship’s hull remains largely intact, and it is estimated to have been over 25 metres in length and 8m beam. It is in an excellent state of preservation and is the most complete example of a ship of the fifteenth century surviving in Northern Europe.

Artefacts and remnants of clothing found by archaeologists show that the ship was trading with Portugal during the 1400s. Finds recovered from within the vessel include 15th century coins, Portuguese pottery, large lumps of cork, stone cannon balls and engraved brass straps. Initially dubbed "the Welsh Mary Rose", the Newport Ship has been described as a cross between a caravel and a Viking longship.

For Wales, this discovery complements finds of ancient boats from the Gwent Levels including the Romano-Celtic boat from Magor (c 280-320 AD) and a medieval boat found in the eroding foreshore at Magor Pill (1240 AD). This new startling find confirms this area of SE Wales as the most prolific source of such early maritime discoveries in Britain and places it in a unique position in the sea-going history of these islands.

The Newport Ship may answer a number of questions on the evolutionary step between a long ship and a later trading cog/caravel, typical of North European vessels upon which commerce relied, and is contemporary with the first ships that explored the Americas and the coast of Africa.

The resting place of the ship was on the edge of the former Friary fields, and the presence of a cradle supporting the ship indicates it was berthed for repair, and may have been abandoned during the Wars of the Roses.

The Newport Ship Project has produced education resources suitable for KS2, click here to find out more. The education resource contains a number of interactive materials that give pupils the opportunity to compare the Newport Ship with other famous finds, consider artefacts found on board and find out more about Newport in Medieval times.