An ancient cannon has been discovered in Plymouth's Cattewater with initial studies suggesting it may date back to the Civil War period in the 1640s.
Discovered during dredging works on the Cattedown Wharves, the 1.5m long canon has been added the the SHIPS register (Shipwrecks & History in Plymouth Sound) where it has been shown to have a likely association with another wreck recovered off Cattedown in 1887.
Mallory Haas, Co-Owner of 3H Consulting, explains the roundabout route the cannon took when it was recovered:
"We were informed by local divers that the gun had been recovered however we were not in the country at that time so could not inspect it. On our return to Plymouth we were informed that the captain of the dredger had been allowed to take the cannon with him when the boat finished the dredging work. We got in contact with the captain who told us that he intended to give the cannon to a sport diving centre in North Cornwall and that the gun was still on the deck of his ship, not kept wet and not protected from the sun. During a later call to the dredger captain to arrange to see the gun, we were told that it had since been placed on a public quay, so we now had access to the gun and could photograph and record it."
The cannon has since returned to Plymouth where it currently lies at Yacht Haven Quay.
A comprehensive report into the canon can be found on the 3H Consultancy website.
The SHIPS Project is funded by ProMare, a US charity research foundation, and managed by 3H Consulting Ltd. in Plymouth, England. Photos from 3H Consulting.
Further reading: Last year, the remains of a World War 2 aircraft propellor was lifted ashore at Yacht Haven Quay. Read more
