New Mary Rose Sinking Theory

Conventional wisdom holds that a very tight turn, coupled with open gun ports and a freak gust of wind, conspired to tilt British ship the Mary Rose over to such an extent she sank in battle. Now, however, a new theory has emerged, which argues that the ship – arguably the most famous one in British history thanks to nationally televised pictures of it being raised centuries later – was holed by a French cannonball, which gradually let water in and caused the vessel to become unstable later in the battle, tipping over during the turn. Evidence for this includes a French cannon ball found inside the wreck. Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper has an explanation from the man who led the research, Dr Dominic Fontana.