Archaeologists uncover Essex dock 'where Charles Darwin's ship was dismantled'
Charles Darwin's ship was decommissioned in 1870, when it was thought to be have been dismantled by the person that bought it.
Monday 28 October 2019 14:27, UK
Archaeologists believe they have found the location where Charles Darwin's ship - which took him all over the world - was likely dismantled.
HMS Beagle enabled the evolutionist to discover some of the most important scientific discoveries in history.
However, once it was decommissioned in 1870, not much was known about where the vessel ended up.
Now, a team of archaeologists, commissioned by Historic England, believes it has found the spot where the ship spent her final days.
Experts have identified the outline of a dock on the mudflats of the River Roach, near the village of Paglesham in the east of Essex.
Using a drone, fitted with a specialist camera which captures red, green, infrared and near-infrared light, a clear outline of the dock can be seen.
The device looks at the health of natural life to build up a picture of buried remains.
It is based on the principle of differential growth - the idea that buried features affect what grows above ground, in a way similar to the way crop marks are formed in dry weather.
Dr Dan Atkinson, director of coastal and marine at Wessex Archaeology, said: "It has been hugely exciting to work on this project, which is starting to shed some light on the famous ship that carried one of science's most renowned individuals.
"No evidence has yet been found of the Beagle itself.
"It was likely dismantled at the dock, and lots of the material would have been taken and re-purposed elsewhere.
"But we know from previous surveys that there are the remains of potentially substantial material in the dock - this could be the remains of the dock itself, another vessel possibly associated with the local oyster fishery, or the Beagle - we can't say for sure.
"Further analysis of data from the previous survey results, and our recent survey may tell us more."
The HMS Beagle was a Cherokee-class 10-gun brig-sloop ship, and was built in 1820 at a cost of £7,803, which is the equivalent of around half-a-million pounds in today's money.
It was initially used by the government to gather marine data, but was later used by Darwin to develop his theory of natural selection across the planet.
Once it had finished travelling the globe, the HMS Beagle was re-purposed as a coastguard ship in 1845, where it was used to stop smuggling until 1870, at which point it was sold and believed to be dismantled.
Sky News is broadcasting a Brexit-free channel, weekdays 5pm to 10pm on Sky 523