hips don't lie: Mary Rose Museum: Treasure trove of objects offers fascinating insight into life in Tudor England

PUBLISHED:

10:36 EST, 30 June 2013

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UPDATED:

10:36 EST, 30 June 2013

Once the flagship of Henry VIII’s impressive fleet, the Mary Rose has been described by historian David Starkey as ‘England’s Pompeii’ thanks to the insight she gives us into life from an extraordinary era.

But ever since the vessel was rescued from the Solent in 1982, she has had to be sprayed constantly with water to stop her drying out and collapsing.

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High and dry: The Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth, with HMS Victory in the foreground

Now, after more than 30 years, the sprinklers have been turned off and Henry’s pride and joy is the centrepiece of the new Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth.

Despite sinking in 1545 during a battle with the French, the starboard hull remained intact on the seabed, along with 19,000 carefully retrieved items.

Forensic scientists also used state-of-the-art techniques to reconstruct the faces of various crew members – that’s how I came to be standing next to an archer in his early 20s with a square jaw, straight nose and a mop of blond hair.

We know he was an archer due to his twisted spine and the groove created on his finger bones from constantly pulling the string of a longbow.

Likewise, we know that the master gunner alongside him was suffering from a degenerative neck and spine condition caused by dragging heavy cannons.

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Coming face-to-face with the past: Scientists have reconstructed the faces of the ship’s crew members

Nearby, the world’s oldest sea dog, nicknamed Hatch by the divers who found her, elicits sympathy from all who pass her skeleton. Remarkably few rat corpses were found on board, meaning she did her job well.

It will be four more years before the ship can be left in the open-air. Until then, she sits in a huge climate-controlled ‘hot house’ at the centre of the museum and relics are displayed on the three reconstructed main decks – castle, main and hold.

The £35million project is not over yet. In 2017, when the Mary Rose is finally dry, the casing around her will come down and visitors will be able to see her in all her glory.

For now, I am content with the treasure trove of objects which not only provide an insight into Tudor England but confound my limited scientific knowledge.

The most unlikely items survived more than 400 years underwater, such as combs with dead nits still nestled between the teeth. Screens show short films of how more unfamiliar items were used and I give the string of a longbow a tug to see if I am strong enough to be a Tudor archer. I am not.

Some objects provide light-hearted relief – a cannon inscription optimistically declares Henry as King of England, France and Wales – while the oldest compass in the Western world confirms these instruments were invented much earlier than first thought.

If the Mary Rose is our Pompeii, then this new museum is the closest to time-travel we’re likely to get.

A ticket to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard (historicdockyard.co.uk), including the Mary Rose Museum, HMS Victory, HMS Warrior 1860 and the National Museum of the Royal Navy, costs £26 per adult and £19.75 per child. Family tickets (two adults and two children) cost £72. Entry to just the Mary Rose Museum costs £17 per adult and £12.50 per child