Iron Cannon Recovered from Portsmouth Harbor

HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND—Dredging to widen and deepen Portsmouth Harbor for new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers has recovered an iron cannon. “Cannons are particularly exciting finds because they could indicate the presence of a previously unrecorded shipwreck,” Andrea Hamel of Wessex Archaeology told BBC News. The cannon will be examined at the Mary Rose Museum. “More investigation into the cannon will be needed to determine its significance, but hopefully ongoing research will provide a date range for the cannon and possible provenance,” Hamel added. It is also possible that the cannon may have been used for ballast before it was thrown overboard. To read about other finds in the same area, go to "As American as Sliced Bacon in a Can."