Stuffed to the Gunnels

It must have been very cramped on board HMS Invincible. The archaeological excavations show us that she was packed full of supplies for her long voyage to Nova Scotia (in present-day Canada). Provisions were stuffed in the hold, in storerooms, on gun decks and even in the officers’ cabins.

Junk in the Junk Room

In the hold, archaeologists found a ‘junk room’ with 6 tonnes of ‘junk’ – old rope that was picked apart to make oakum, then used for gun wads and waterproof caulking. Picking kept bored sailors out of trouble!

Spares, spares and more spares

Most of the supplies on board were spares and everything was carefully labelled. This shows how organised the Royal Navy was. All the shot for her guns can still be seen in a huge pile on the sea bed. Invincible was not only prepared for a long voyage, but also prepared for battle.