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Jun 7, 2021 40 tweets 25 min read Read on X
Heartstone is perfect for Tudor fans as it has some very accurate depictions of the Mary Rose and Tudor Portsmouth.

Which is hardly surprising because we helped with the research! #OnceUponAtimeMW The Book Heartstone by C J Sansom is part of a Tudor detectiThe start of the dedication in the book. I am very grateful
But there are some more nuggets from the book you can find in our museum that we want to share with you.
And because we are responsible readers, be aware, spoilers ahead!
So here we go and let’s start with the front cover.

It may be hard to spot, but the star of the cover is one of our guns on the main deck! The Front cover of Heartstone features a gun crest of crown The bronze gun can be found in the Main Deck context gallery
'Men were checking stone and iron gunballs for size against wooden boards with large circular holes, then stacking them carefully inside triangular containers beside each cannon.’

Shot gauges were made for each gun as barrel size wasn’t uniform. This shot gauge is shaped like a tear drop and has a circle
Gunners wouldn’t want too large or too small a shot in their guns as they could either get wedged or cause damage to the barrel when fired.
The stone shot was brought on board in an unfinished state so gunners could chisel them to the right size for their gun once on board. Examples of stone shot in our museum. Some are nicely finish
‘They were barefoot, most with jerkins over their shirts and some with round woolly hats.’

Organic material didn’t survive too well but we do have some clothing items, including jerkins and hats. The woolly hat, or cap, is round in shape and has a brim allLeather jerkins were worn as overalls to protect the shirts Some leather jerkins were decorated, like this one, with sla
We also have a piece of checked fabric which we think was a shirt, so take note for next time you plan on making a Tudor outfit!

Our check fabric is yellow with red horizontal and vertical
Also, seeing as we found 239 shoes we aren’t sure why the crew are described as barefoot.

(Although it might be to stop them from slipping on the decks) Leather knee high bootPair of ankle boots with lacesA pair of slip on shoesA pair of slip on mules
‘High in the masts I made out more men standing in little circular nests. David said, ‘Those are fighting tops. Your archers may go there.”

This is the only surviving fighting top in the world. It survived because it was a spare kept in storage so was buried & preserved in silt. The fighting top looks like a large, shallow dish. There are
And just so we’re clear, this is not a crow’s nest. A crow’s nest is entirely different.

Look at the difference! A crow's nest is a tube with a hood to protect the person in
‘A small mongrel greyhound sat beside one group, avidly watching a game of cards.’

No prizes for guessing who that is! @HatchTheDog_MR was likely on board as the ship’s ratter and possibly unofficial mascot. Hatch is very popular amongst visitors as well as on Twitter
@HatchTheDog_MR Most dog breeds originated after 1545 but Hatch’s DNA points to him being closely related to modern Jack Russell/whippet cross. This illustration is based on Hatch's DNA evidence. He looks
@HatchTheDog_MR ‘Then the cook and his assistant rolled a heavy barrel into the galley. They set it quickly upright and the cook opened the lid with a chisel. I saw a white mass of fish within, the gleam of salt.’
The crew may not have eaten much in the way of vegetables but they were fed well. As well as cod bones we found beef, pork and venison. Some m
@HatchTheDog_MR Amongst casks of beef, venison and pork we also recovered at least 60 salted cod, as well as Haddock, Hake and Eel. Barrels of various sizes in the Lower Context gallery, repre
@HatchTheDog_MR Isotope and DNA analysis of cod bones showed the fish had come from Iceland! (Obviously the fishing grounds of the country, not the shop, which wasn’t founded until 1970.)

maryrose.org/news/cod-bones…
@HatchTheDog_MR ‘She was clinging to something, a broad wooden circle with a short spar attached, the circle painted with alternating red and white rose petals. The emblem from the bow of the Mary Rose.’

The colours have washed off but you can just make out the rose shape on the emblem. Due to the current shape of the emblem (due to erosion), wheThe University of Portsmouth made a CGI model of the emblem
@HatchTheDog_MR Did you know, we share an emblem with the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth?

The ship’s badge is a Tudor Rose on a background of green and white, the colours of the Tudor House. Which is very apt considering the ship is named after the Tudor monarch. The ship's badge has a Tudor rose (half red, half white) wit
@HatchTheDog_MR Some of the Portsmouth landmarks Shardlake sees and visits include Round Tower and Square Tower.

Both of these are included on the Cowdray engraving (a Tudor depiction of the Battle of the Solent) along with Southsea Castle and still exist today! Map from Heartstone of Tudor PortsmouthThe Cowdray Engraving came from Cowdray House, the home of SArial view of Portsmouth today with Square Tower and Round T
@HatchTheDog_MR ‘One group was talking in what I recognised as Spanish.’

For 30 years we were intrigued by Spanish items owned by one of the carpenters and presumed he had either visited Spain or had come from there. Drawing of the carpenter's face using forensic reconstructioSpanish silver coins found in the carpenter's chestThe Spanish adze
@HatchTheDog_MR In 2019 we had the opportunity to examine some of the crew using isotope analysis and one of the surprises confirmed he was in fact Spanish! This discovery about the carpenter and others we made about
@HatchTheDog_MR A Welsh ex-member of staff was convinced one of our archers was Welsh because of his large physique.

Hopefully he wasn’t too disappointed when we learnt he was from Southern England. The wax work of the archer can be found in our Science of th
@HatchTheDog_MR If you’re interested in what else we discovered about some of our crew members, you can watch the documentary on Channel 4

channel4.com/programmes/ske…
@HatchTheDog_MR ‘He had a dark brown beard framing a long, frowning face, a pomander as well as a sword at his waist.’

Pomanders are small wooden balls with holes in. they were filled with petals as it was believed nice smells would chase disease away. This pommander is a small wooden ball with holes around it t
@HatchTheDog_MR Iron didn’t survive too well but we do have a nice example of a basket hilt sword plus several sword hangers. Close up of the basket sword handle.This sword is the best example we recovered and can be seen
@HatchTheDog_MR “All the big warships have netting secured across the tops of their decks to stop boarders.”

Although designed to protect the crew, the anti-boarding netting trapped many of the crew on the ship so they couldn’t escape as she sank. A small fragment of the netting is on display in the museum.
@HatchTheDog_MR The rope was covered in a mixture of sand and tar to prevent the enemy from cutting through but it also meant the crew couldn’t cut their way out.
@HatchTheDog_MR ‘The ship heeled to starboard. I thought it would be like the earlier manoeuvre and she would right herself but she tilted more and more.’

Even after 500 years, we still don’t have definitive proof of what caused the sinking. This painting of the Mary Rose sinking is part of a pair pai
@HatchTheDog_MR Eye witness accounts blame a gust of wind but could there be another reason?

maryrose.org/why-did-the-ma…
@HatchTheDog_MR “We all heard the screaming too, as the King did at South Sea Castle.’ ‘He saw the Mary Rose sink?”

We know from the Cowdray engraving and other documents that Henry had a front row seat as he watched the battle from @Southsea_Castle At the centre of the Cowdray Engraving is Southsea Castle. O
@HatchTheDog_MR @Southsea_Castle However, we aren’t sure if he cried out the crew had ‘drowned like ratten’ as another author has claimed.
@HatchTheDog_MR @Southsea_Castle “They’re arguing with Governor Paulet over whether they or the arm should pay for the care of those here.”

Another famous face from the Cowdray is Governor Paulet, who can be seen standing with his wife and grandson. Govenor Paulet and family are at the centre bottom of Cowdra
@HatchTheDog_MR @Southsea_Castle His son is over in Portsmouth town, talking/organising/dealing with people. Governor Paulet's son is located within the city by Square T
@HatchTheDog_MR @Southsea_Castle “They want to try and refloat the Mary Rose when it’s safe,’ Barak said. ‘Bring in Italian engineers, to recover the guns, at least.”

We know that in 1547 Italian salvage diver Piero Paola Corsi was paid £50 to recover guns from the Mary Rose. The free divers involved with the recovery could stay under
@HatchTheDog_MR @Southsea_Castle One of the only people named as part of his dive team was Jacques Francis, a guinea-born diver.

(Image by @LillingtonJoe) Artist's interpretation of Jacques Francis. It is important
@HatchTheDog_MR @Southsea_Castle @LillingtonJoe Later that year, Corsi was accused of theft from another salvage job in the Solent. During his trial, Jacques Francis was called upon to give evidence in Corsi’s defence, making him the first person of colour to give evidence in an English court.

nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/black…
@HatchTheDog_MR @Southsea_Castle @LillingtonJoe And finally, did you know you can find #Shardlake in our museum?

Well, on it anyway. C J Sansom supported the building of our museum and both his and Shardlake’s names are immortalised on the outside of our museum balcony. Chris Sansom is engraved on the right hand side of the balcoMatthew Shardlake is engraved on the opposite side to his cr
@HatchTheDog_MR @Southsea_Castle @LillingtonJoe Plus, C J Sansom also sponsored the Men of The Upper Deck gallery. The Men of the Upper Decks sign has a segment underneath whi
@HatchTheDog_MR @Southsea_Castle @LillingtonJoe We hope you enjoyed this literary look at our collection and if you’ve not come to see our museum you should definitely book tickets to do so soon!

maryrose.org/your-visit/ The Mary Rose is viewable from all 9 galleries and is displaWe have 8 character cases of crew members which show the tooThe galleries are arranged by where particular activities woWe have items from all levels of Tudor societies, some you c

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More from @MaryRoseMuseum

Aug 2, 2023
Tiny bone dice, recovered from the Solent after over 400 years buried at the bottom of the sea. These dice are a favourite among many of our visitors, divers, archaeologists, staff and volunteers. #MyFavouriteArtefact Image
Conservation and Heritage Science Intern, Sian Blake, explains why they love the dice:

"The dice are my favourite artefact from the Museum due to their size and the number recovered from the site!"

#MyFavouriteArtefact
"It is extraordinary to think that their size made them easier to hide when the crew played secret dice games to protect themselves from prosecution, due to the ‘Unlawful Games Act’ brought in during 1541".

#MyFavouriteArtefact
Read 4 tweets
Jun 7, 2021
Ah, the story of the Mary Rose, where do we begin?

No, really, where do we begin?

#OnceUponAtimeMW
Does the story begin in 1509, when a young ambitious prince becomes king, and decides that one of his first acts will be to increase the number of ships in his late father's 'Army by Sea'?
#OnceUponAtimeMW Henry VIII as a young, curly haired beardless 18 year old, n
Does it begin in 1511, when one of those ships, The Mary Rose, sets sail from Portsmouth to get fitted out with guns in London?

#OnceUponAtimeMW
Read 17 tweets

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