The Stirling Castle was third rate 70 gun ship of the line, built as part of Samuel Pepy's 'Thirty Ships' building programme following the Anglo-Dutch war. In 1703 when the Great Storm hit Britain the Stirling Castle was anchored off Goodwin sands, when the anchors dragged and in the early hours of the morning it sank.

Deck timbers of the Stirling CastleStern post of the Stirling CastleRopes from the Stirling Castle

The site consists of long low mound measuring 50 metres long by 20 metres at its widest point. Archaeological features on the site consist of the partially intact hull, internal structure and an array of fixtures and fittings of the ship. Including an in-situ rudder, Various sections of rope and a Butt-chock together with hybrid steering gear. The site is considered to be vulnerable to destruction as the sand movement is exposing more of the wreck, to the point where English Heritage believes that 'the continuing exposure of the wreck means that much of the site and its contents could be lost within a few years'. The site was designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act (1973), English Heritage administer the site while the licensee monitors the site. Wessex Archaeology's Diving Investigations In 2006 and 2007 Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by English Heritage to undertake a designated site assessment of the Stirling Castle site. A swim over survey assessing the condition of the site was completed in each year along with a photographic survey of many of the exposed features.

Site Plan of Stirling Castle

Following Wessex Archaeology's investigations on the site an accurate site plan of the site was created, utilising geophysical data, existing site plans produced by the licensee and the information collected from Wessex Archaeology's diving surveys. A full copy of the report is available for download below in .pdf format. INSERT PDF REPORT LINLK INSERT_MAP