Not content with only one cannon, the crew capped off a successful dive mission by raising a second cannon on the final day at sea. The Fourcault then transported the artefacts from Alderney to the Tower of London, where excavation leader Mensun Bound and conservation expert Ian Panter began the process of de-concretion.
Elizabeth spent two months at the Tower, so it is quite fitting the cannons will spend time here too. The team decided to position the two raised cannons in an outdoor setting just near the Tower's infamous ravens. With little more than a few hammers and chisels, Mensun and his team set about chipping away the 400-year-old crust that has shrouded the cannons.
They are on a raised platform, and in full view for the public to see. In between the banging and the pinging of the detritus coming off the cannons, people are often asking where the artefacts came from, who used them, and how old are they?
Mensun hopes he will be able to answer these questions as the cannons reveal themselves, and his theory that they are part of a set is looking more likely.
"It is early days, but I think my theory is looking to be proved correct," Mensun said.
Before the cannons arrived at the Tower they had undergone a series of powerful x-rays, which could have given bore diameters and markings to determine whether they were in fact part of a set.
Unfortunately though, the x-rays didn't reveal anything definitive, making de-concretion an even more crucial process.
The team are encouraged by how easy the thick layers seem to be coming off and the first part of the restoration stage is well on schedule. Cannon three - the first of the two raised - looks like it could have some extra artefacts attached, possibly a helmet and another musket, but it's a little early to confirm that just yet.
Published: June 2008