Forensics and the Mary Rose

Forensic research on the human remains found in the wreck of the Mary Rose has shed new light on the events of 19 July 1545 when the flagship of the English navy sank during the Battle of the Solent. The evidence suggests many of the crew of the Mary Rose were foreign mercenaries, which may have contributed to the loss of the ship.

It’s thought that the Mary Rose sank while turning sharply to avoid running aground. Water came in through the open gun ports, capsizing the ship and leading to most of those on board being drowned. Were the gun ports left open because foreign crew-members couldn’t understand the order to close them?

Professor Hugh Montgomery, a senior lecturer at University College London Centre for Cardiovascular Genetics where he researches the way bones grow and respond to different physical stresses, thinks so.

Among the artefacts from the Mary Rose which were brought to the surface in the 1980s were the bones of hundreds of sailors and gunners who drowned that day. 179 complete skeletons have since been reassembled and Montgomery has investigated the skulls of three of them in detail.

Research on the bones reveals many insights into life on board a Tudor ship — diet, disease, work, health and war wounds. But the most striking discovery is that up to two thirds of the crew were not from the British Isles, but probably hailed from Southern Europe — possibly Spain.

Scientists can determine roughly where a person grew up by analysing their teeth, which retain the type of water molecule they consumed in childhood. Lynne Bell, a forensic anthropologist, examined 18 crew members' remains and was surprised to find that 11 of them must have come from near the Mediterranean.

"The analysis of the teeth suggests the men grew up in a warm climate, probably somewhere in southern Europe, Prof Montgomery said. It's also known that at this time Henry VIII was short of skilled soldiers and sailors and was trying to recruit mercenaries from the Continent."

Henry VIII's state papers reveal that six months before the Mary Rose sank, nine ships were caught in a storm and took refuge in Falmouth harbour. On board were 600 Spanish soldiers who had no money or food and so had no choice but to join the English navy. Contemporary accounts show that it was suspected that some problem with the crew had led to the sinking of the Mary Rose. The ship's last commander, Vice Admiral Sir George Carew, who drowned with his men, complained not long before the disaster that the crew included, "the sort of knaves whom he could not rule".

Prof Montgomery's theory is that the ship's officer spotted the French and ordered the ship to make a rapid turn; as it turned, it keeled, and an officer shouted at the Spanish crew to close the gun ports. Before they had understood the order, water rushed in ...

The Mary Rose was a top-heavy vessel that would roll heavily. It also had a set of gun ports that were too close to the water line so it was perhaps no surprise that it sank.

A television documentary about this event was recently shown in the UK. The Wellcome Trust provided funding that made it possible for the documentary makers — Windfall Films — to film the scientists at work and to commission accurate CGI animation showing where the bones were found and visualising what the research tells us about the skeletons. These are two of the strongest elements of the film and help demonstrate the impact that biomedical research can have, not least in giving a new perspective on the story of the Mary Rose.