Summary Record
Date March 2013
Event ID 935005
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Summary Record
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/935005
The Dartmouth investigation, 1973-1975
The Dartmouth was built at Portsmouth in 1655 for the Commonwealth by Sir John Tippets as one of a new class of light and manoeuvrable small warships derived from Dutch and Danish prototypes. Rated at 240 tons, she had a keel length of 80 ft, a beam of 25 ft, and carried up to 32 cast-iron guns of which the largest were 9-pounders. After a long career which included service in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean she was involved in naval operations following the accession of William and Mary in 1688. In 1689 Dartmouth participated in the Battle of Bantry Bay and was a major player in the relief of Londonderry. The following year she was engaged in anti-Jacobite operations off the west coast of Scotland, based at Greenock and Carrickfergus. While preparing to attack the Macleans of Duart on Mull she was struck by a violent storm on 9 October 1690 and wrecked.
Her remains were found in August 1973 in depths ranging from 3 to 7 metres by a group of divers from Bristol (John Adnams, Ray Bishop, Allan Carr, Roger Holman, and Andrew Wheeler) close to the small islet of Rudha an Ridire, on the Movern side of the south-east entrance to the Sound of Mull (NM 723407). Their preliminary survey revealed a linear scatter of cast-iron guns and a number of finds which included a ship’s bell bearing the government pheon , the letters ‘DH’, and the date 1678. Subsequent research indicated that the only vessel of this type and general period known to have sunk in the vicinity some time after 1678 was Dartmouth, and the identification of this site as that of her wreck is beyond serious question. All the finds subsequently made are attributable to a late-17th-century date, with the latest coin dated 1689.
The discovery was reported to the Receiver of Wreck and the recoveries were voluntarily donated to the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland by the finders. Soon afterwards the site became one of the first to be designated under the then recently enacted Protection of Wrecks Act. The finders formed themselves into the Bristol Undersea Archaeology Group with the intention of mounting a responsible investigation of the wreck. A partnership was established with the National Museum through the good offices of its Keeper, Dr Robert Stevenson, to conserve and subsequently curate the recoveries, and the then recently-founded Institute of Maritime Archaeology at St Andrews University which would provide professional archaeological and diving support under the direction of Colin Martin.
A further field visit was made in 1973, followed by two full seasons in 1974 and 1975, with the intention of partially excavating the site. Most of the on-site work was conducted by the St Andrews team comprising Tony Long, Colin Martin, Keith Muckelroy, and Paula Williams. Visiting scholars included Jeremy Green (Australia), Thijs Maarleveld (Holland), Celie O’Rahilly (Ireland) Jill Sweetnam (UK), David Switzer (USA) and Lous Zuiderbaan (Holland). The Bristol group and others assisted during their holiday periods, with specialist contributions by Richard Larn and Peter McBride.
Excavation revealed a substantial section of the lower hull, part of which was raised for disassembly and conservation in Edinburgh. This work, and conservation of the varied collection of small finds, was conducted in the first instance by Hugh McKerrell and Jack Howells, and subsequently by their successors. The collection (apart from the timbers) is currently in storage at the NMS repository in Leith, and during 2012 and 2013 Colin Martin has been studying and recording it with a view to a full publication of the project in the near future. Jackie Moran of the Museum has facilitated this work.
It has already emerged that Dartmouth’s lower structure does not follow conventional techniques of shipbuilding in the 17th century, although this may be the result of the major re-build which the ship underwent in 1678. Finds associated with the ship include the bell, lead draught marks, lead patches and other evidence of repair, rigging fittings, and lead scupper liners. A well-preserved caulking mallet of traditional type was found. Navigational items include three pairs of brass dividers, a brass protractor, part of a log slate, and the horizon vane of a backstaff. Administration and accounting on board is exemplified by brass weights, a wine thief, and two folding calculator rules, one of which is in outstanding condition. Medical equipment is represented by two pewter urethral syringes and ceramic medicine jars.
An example of each type of gun carried by the ship was cleaned and recorded in situ, and a sample specimen raised. A corresponding sample of iron shot was also raised for statistical analysis. Other weaponry includes the stock of a highland sporting musket and a small flintlock pistol, and many thousands of lead balls mainly of musket calibre. A number of hollow cast-iron grenades and associated wooden fuse plugs were found. Lighting equipment includes candlesticks and a three-wick gimballed cabin lamp. Domestic items include knife handles, glass bottles and pottery (redwares, scraffito slipware, Rhenish salt-glazed wares, Westerwald, tin-glazed wares, Spanish olive jar, and fragments of local crogain ware). Also of local origin is a fine Highland ring-brooch of brass. The tightly-dated clay-pipe collection is dominated by the products of James Colquhoun of Glasgow.
All the finds are owned by the National Museums of Scotland. A selection of items is currently on loan to the City Museum, Londonderry, where it is displayed in connection with the relief of the city in 1689.
References
Adnams, J., 1974, ‘The Dartmouth, a British frigate wrecked off Mull, 1690’, International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 3.2: 269-74.
Holman, R., 1975, ‘The Dartmouth, a British frigate wrecked off Mull, 1690. 2. Culinary and related items’, International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 4.2: 253-65.
McBride, P., 1976, ‘The Dartmouth, a British frigate wrecked off Mull, 1690. 3. The guns’, International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 5.3: 189-200.
Martin, P., 1977, ‘The Dartmouth, a British frigate wrecked off Mull, 1690. 4. The clay pipes’, International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 6.3: 219-23.
Martin, C., 1978, ‘The Dartmouth, a British frigate wrecked off Mull, 1690. 5. The ship’, International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 7.1: 29-58.
![Copper-alloy protractor and rule inscribed 'Johan Lewis Dub[lin]: Fecit' (HXD 183(a)).](http://i.rcahms.gov.uk/canmore/l/SC01325541.jpg)
![Copper-alloy protractor and rule inscribed 'Johan Lewis Dub[lin]: Fecit' (HXD 183(a)).](http://i.rcahms.gov.uk/canmore/s/SC01325541.jpg)
