The Cargo

The Gresham ship was carrying a substantial cargo of different metals when she sank, representing a considerable financial loss. Reports record that some of that material recovered in 1846 included 2700 tin ingots, lead pigs and iron bars (British Archaeological Association, 1847, 361). The excavations in 2003–4
found a further three stamped lead ingots, five tin ingots and 42 iron bars from the hull area of the ship. The size of the original cargo remains unknown, though the
estimated capacity of the ship, perhaps some 150 tons, provides an indication. In this chapter, the assemblage of lead and tin ingots and the bar iron will be described,
the production processes established and the innovative
analytical evidence for the provenance of the metals discussed. The research presented here suggests that lead ingots were from Derbyshire, the tin from
Cornwall, but the bar iron seems not to be British, but from the Rhine area. Study of such a varied
consignment presents an opportunity to learn more about trade in the late 16 th and early 17 th centuries, setting the cargo in a wider socio-economic context,
and leads to suggestions as to a range of possible intended destinations of the vessel before her unfortunate demise.