Volunteer Jane explores the story of the Lalla Rookh, lost in dense fog off the south Devon coast: Lalla Rookh was a square-rigged, iron-hulled sailing ship, built by Jones & Co in 1856 in Liverpool in the UK. The ship was owned by Prowse & Co and was used to trade from Liverpool to India [...]

We were delighted to welcome Abi, an early career architecture graduate, to spend a busy few weeks with us. Her placement came at a perfect time while we have been working with architects and museum designers on our Yarmouth School Development, providing lots of opportunities to gain experience and feed into our planning for interim [...]

Maritime archaeology is more than shipwrecks: it is a multidisciplinary field that brings together history, geography, science, technology, creativity and even ethics, making it a powerful (and often underused) real-world teaching tool for learners of all ages. Ahead of changes to the National Curriculum this year, we picked out three of our favourite resources made [...]

As 2025 draws to a close, MAT staff reflect on some of their highlights from the year... Lauren Tidbury: In December 2025, we reached a major milestone by completing the final desk-based assessment for the Ministry of Defence Potentially Polluting Wrecks project. As part of this global initiative, we delivered 482 Historic Desk-Based Assessments, helping [...]

MAT team member Carley Divish talks about her work using photogrammetry, and how this 3D modelling technique can be used to bring sites and artefacts to life.    Working at the Maritime Archaeology Trust requires a variety of skills.  Some of those can be taught, but some of them, like curiosity, are harder to come by. Thankfully, in [...]

Volunteer Roger Burns has created our 14th crossword which features 26 shipwrecks, each one beginning with a different letter of the alphabet. The usual “link” words comprise a mixture of general knowledge words, with some being maritime or nautical related. Answers including associated weblinks will be posted next month, so download, print, and test your [...]

2025 has been another busy and exciting year for MAT. As we head towards the close of the year we have some words from our outgoing Chairman Michael Woodhall and a review of the highlights of this year’s activities.  Our Outgoing Chairman's Words It has been a privilege to serve as Chairman of MAT over [...]

Volunteer Jane Thakker explores the story of the Thomas W Lawson, a vessel researched as part of the Metal Huller Sailing Vessels project. When it was destroyed by a storm in 1907, it became one of the first large marine oil spills.  The Thomas W Lawson on its maiden voyage. Source: Schooner 'Thomas W. Lawson' [...]

Ghost ships have no living crew aboard – they may be fictional, or a derelict found floating with crew dead or missing. They may be based on folklore or mythology or unexplained strange events, such as HMS Eurydice, or on unsubstantiated rumours. But they can also be based on historical events, often abandoned ships witnessed [...]

Volunteer Roger Burns has created our 13th crossword, themed with a selection of International Maritime Museum names or their locations or related exhibits, many being found here. Foreign museum names are the actual names, not revised for language in any way. Includes the usual “link” words, some maritime or nautical related, others general knowledge. Answers [...]