Medieval wine ‘supertanker’ to go on display in Wales this year

Part of a merchant ship, constructed in 1449 and thought to have transported wine, is due to go on display at the Newport Ship Centre this year, with a building being sought to house the boat in its entirety.

‘The Newport Ship: Final Resting Place’ by David Jordan. Image: Friends of the Newport Ship, Facebook.

As reported by Wales Online, the boat, known as the ‘Newport Medieval Ship’, could carry up to 200 tonnes of wine per voyage.

Thought to have originated in the Basque Country, it was found buried in the banks of the river Usk in 2002.

Over 60 years older than the Mary Rose, the Newport Ship is over 35-metres long and is considered to be the best preserved and most complete vessel of its kind and age in the world.

Currently housed in an industrial unit in Newport, the ship is being painstakingly restored and reassembled by a team of volunteers working for the charity Friends of the Newport Ship, in conjunction with Swansea University. Shortly after the boat was found, the Welsh Government announced a £3.5 million plan to excavate, conserve and eventually display the vessel.

Over the years around 2,000 timbers from the ship have been recovered, and since then the team have been soaking the wood in preservatives and then freeze drying it.

Bob Evans, chairman of the Friends of the Newport Ship, told Wales Online that the intention was to have some of the timbers from the ship on display when the Newport Ship Centre is reopened in spring this year. He said he aims to have the remaining timbers back at the centre by the end of 2020.

The team are currently searching for a building within Newport which is large enough to house the ship in its entirety.

Evans said the team are prepared to reassemble the boat with assistance from specialists at Swansea University.

“Reassembling a 600-year-old ship from its original timbers is like doing a 3D jigsaw puzzle with 2,500 pieces, without the picture on the box,” Evans said.

As to the ship’s background, he stated: “We know nothing of her history but everything we have learned from our research suggests that our ship traded with Portugal and the Iberian peninsula and was engaged in the wine trade.

“She could carry up to 200 tonnes of wine in one voyage – that’s 50,000 gallons or around 200,000 bottles – truly a 15th century wine supertanker.”

You can read more about the work of the Friends of the Newport Ship here.

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