X-rayed artifacts from famed shipwreck shed light on secrets of Tudor armor

Enlarge / The hull of Henry VIII's favorite warship, the Mary Rose, and many thousands of recovered artifacts are housed in the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth, England. (credit: Johnny Black)

One of King Henry VIII's favorite warships was the Mary Rose, which served as one of the flagships of the English Navy for over 30 years, until she sank in a battle against the French in 1545. She made headlines again in 1982 when she was successfully raised from the bottom of the straits where she had lain for centuries, along with thousands of artifacts that have been a boon to maritime archaeologists ever since.

Conservationists have worked tirelessly to preserve the ship's remains and its many artifacts. And now high-energy X-ray analysis of chain mail links salvaged from the wreckage by a team of British scientists has revealed that the material composition of the armor is similar to modern brass alloys, according to a recent paper published in the Journal of Synchrotron Radiation. There were also traces of lead and gold, whose origin has yet to be decisively determined.

"This study clearly shows the power of combining sophisticated techniques such as those available at a synchrotron source," said co-author Eleanor Schofield, head of conservation at the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth. "We can glean information not only on the original production, but also on how it has reacted to being in the marine environment and crucially, how effective the conservation strategies have been."

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