Stage 1: The dive
First up is the dive. Leading this vital and dangerous initial stage is marine archaeology expert Mensun Bound. The team will locate and dive down to the wreck before finding the ship's complement of armaments, including muskets, soldiers' armour and various other artefacts, including the ultimate prize - two massive cannon.
Once the weapons have been raised, they will be shipped back to Alderney for closer inspection. They will then begin their journey back to England and the Tower of London, where we will learn more about how the Elizabethans made their weapons.
Stage 2: The restoration
The finds will be sailed up the Thames to the Tower of London, where restoration expert Ian Panter will oversee the process of de-concretion. Elizabeth spent two months at the Tower and so too will the cannons and selected artefacts. After they have been stripped of 400 years of excess detritus, the team will determine exactly what they have recovered and how those artefacts relate to our ideas of 16th Century sea conflict.
Stage 3: The rebuilding
Nobody really knows how well these guns worked, and it's too dangerous to fire 400-year-old cannon, so to discover why these guns were so successful the crew is then going to try to make an exact replica. Once the finds have been restored, munitions director Graeme Rimer will set about the difficult task of rebuilding the arsenal - most notably the cannon, replica weapons, a ship side and gun carriage, and gunpowder to Elizabethan recipes.
Stage 4: The firing and testing
Now the fun begins: After painstakingly recreating the Elizabethan arsenal, the recreations will be taken to a Ministry Of Defence weapons testing site, where the cannon and muskets will be discharged; a genuine recreation of 16th Century firepower. Despite all safety precautions, the fear is still that the cannon could explode. When Bronze cannons go wrong, they bulge first and then fly apart. Cast iron cannons give you no warning.
Published: June 2008