Ships of Trade

The bulk of the world's trade has always been carried by sea, by sailing ships linking different peoples and cultures and bearing not cargoes of riches but the commodities of everyday life. The story of these ships is full of excitement, tragedy and inspiration. The Amsterdam, entombed in the mud off Hastings since 1749, still loaded with an entire cargo. In the harbour entrance of St Peter Port a unique Romano-Celtic vessel of the time of Julius Caesar - recently snatched to safety from the paths of the Channel ferries. And, in Bermuda, the Sea Venture, whose loss in 1609 was immortalised by Shakespeare in The Tempest. In bringing their stories back to life, marine archaeology is, in Sir Mortimer Wheeler 's phrase, 'not digging up things but digging up people'.