The Henry V warship Holigost has been found buried in river mud in Hampshire, England. One of four "great ships" commissioned for the king's navy, the Holigost was completed in 1415.
"It may have been the humbler ships that actually did most of the work, but these great ships were floating symbols of power and prestige, richly ornamented with elaborate carvings, flying huge flags, towering over the much smaller merchant ships," Ian Friel, a historian who specializes in Henry V's warships told
The Guardian.
The Holigost was built for the king by recycling the hull of a captured Spanish warship, the Santa Clara.
BBC News said the Holigost was part of Henry V's military that fought the French. The ship had a crew of 200 and reportedly carried the largest number of soldiers to war.
The ship was repaired in 1423 by using a diver named Davy Owen in possibly the first-ever recorded example of an underwater ship repairs being done by a diver in England.
Future research at the spot where the remains were found could be subjected to sonar and aerial imaging to understand more about 15th century shipbuilding, dock building and other docking practices.
"In my opinion, further research leading to the rediscovery of the Holigost would be even more important than the identification of the Grace Dieu in the 1930s," said Friel. "The Holigost fought in two of the most significant naval battles of the Hundred Years War, battles that opened the way for the English conquest of northern France."
The Guardian reported that the Holigost was "laid up" in dock on the river Hamble years after Henry V's death in 1422 and was eventually stripped of its mast, contents and timber and likely sank as the dock collapsed because it was not maintained.
Friel noticed the possible Holigost wreckage initially about 30 years ago in an aerial photograph that also showed the wreck of a modern cabin cruiser.
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