Mary Rose carpenter's skull

3D Model

The great warship Mary Rose, Henry VIII’s favorite ship, sank in battle in 1545 with a loss of almost 500 lives. The ship sank quickly and due to the seabed conditons, the ship and thousands of artefacts were icredibly well preserved. The skull you see, was found with a body believed to be that of one of the carpenters aboard the the ship. He was found in the orlop (bottom) deck, directly below the carpenters work shop. possibly deployed during the battle to fix any damage sustained.

Analysis of his remains reveals that he was probably in his mid-to-late thirties. He was just over 1.72 metres tall (5ft 7 in.) and was a strong muscular man. His teeth were poor, with a build-up of tartar. An abscess in his upper jaw meant he could only chew on the right side.

He also had arthritis in his spine, ribs and left clavicle and a lesion across his right eyebrow which may be the result of an old wound.

Find out more about the Mary Rose or Virtual Tudors, click below.

www.VirtualTudors.org www.MaryRose.org