Mystery cruiser: Shipwreck with hidden past emerges from beneath sands on popular beach after it was battered by storms
- Shipwreck has emerged from sands on Rhossili beach at the Gower, South Wales
- It was exposed by storms Dennis and Jorge that hit Britain in February
- Theories of ship’s origin range from the 1600s to a First World War vessel
A mysterious shipwreck has emerged from the sands at a popular beauty spot after the coast was battered by winter storms.
Beach-goers enjoying the sudden sunshine stumbled upon the stricken boat exposed after storms Dennis and Jorge hit Britain.
But the true identity of the ship on picturesque Rhossili beach at the Gower, South Wales, has remained a mystery.
A mysterious shipwreck has emerged from the sands at Rhossili beach at the Gower, South Wales after being exposed by storms Dennis and Jorge, which hit Britain in February
The stunning site was photographed by walker Sean Milsom who said the wreck reminded him of ‘the Mary Rose’.
He said: ‘This wreck was a very interesting find on the beach during our Sunday afternoon walk.
‘I wondered what had happened to the ship for it to be so far up the beach, what type of ship it was and what it was called.
Experts are still unsure what the ship is with some suggesting it was blown ashore in the 1600s and others saying it was sunk by German U-boats during WWI
The stunning site was photographed by walker Sean Milsom who said the wreck reminded him of ‘the Mary Rose’
‘It reminded me of the Mary Rose.’
Experts are still unsure what the ship is with some suggesting it was blown ashore in the 1600s and others saying it was sunk by German U-boats during WWI.
But the wreck is most likely to be that of a coal transport that sank in the 19th century – and was excavate by archaeologists.
A report by Glamorgan Gwent Archaeological Trust in 2015 said: ‘The existence of this wreck, possibly a wooden coastal vessel used for transporting coal, has been known since the 1990s.
The Glamorgan Gwent Archaeological Trust have said that existence of this wreck, ‘possibly a wooden coastal vessel used for transporting coal, has been known since the 1990s’ (stock photo)
‘At this time small pieces of coal were visible in the timber hull.
‘Was it part of the fleet of coal ships that ran aground on January 22nd, 1868 whilst carrying a cargo of coal or is it from another time and place further afield?
‘A metre wide trench was excavated and a large piece of coal was discovered near the keel, supporting the postulated theory that this was a coal vessel run aground from either Pembrokeshire or the Gwendraeth valley.’
The bay is also home to the famous Helvetia shipwreck, which happened during a stormy evening in November 1887.