HMS Impregnable
HMS Impregnable was a 2nd rate ship-of-the-line; today on the seabed only the concreted iron ballast blocks and lower hull remains survive. While initially looking relatively unassuming this site is revealing interesting information on late 18th century ballast and the types of archaeological material that can be preserved in this environment. Survey this year included monitoring of seabed levels adjacent to the ballast blocks, recording of a feature identified through geophysical survey lying 12 meters to the south of the site, completion of section drawings of the upstanding remains, detailed investigation of the position of individual ballast bars and a timber assessment by dendrochronlogist Nigel Nayling. A particularly interesting discovery was the extent to which an impression of the hull timbers, now degraded away, has been preserved by the iron concretion. This information should make it possible to study characteristics of the timbers even though they have long since disappeared.
An HWTMA diver records HMS Impregnable