The successful salvage operation which brought the Mary Rose to the surface of the Solent again in 1982 was not the first attempt to raise her.

Shortly after the battle in which she sank, two large merchant vessels and 30 Venetian mariners tried to save the Mary Rose.

But the attempt failed and succeeded in breaking her foremast. The team then tried to drag her into `shallow ground' but was also unsuccessful.

And so the Mary Rose came to lay on her starboard side at an angle of about 60 degrees.

She sank through the soft upper sediments, resting on the clay below. With the help of the Solent tides, the side on the seabed filled up with silt which helped preserve her, while the port side exposed to the water was gradually eroded.

In the 17th and 18th century the entire site was covered with a layer of hard grey clay which reduced further degradation.

The wreck gradually faded into obscurity until 1836 when John Deane, who invented the first practical diving helmet, was diving nearby and was asked to help a fisherman whose gear had become snagged.

He dived down, discovered the obstruction was a timber emerging from the seabed and then found a bronze gun.

The Mary Rose had been found again.

Deane continued diving on the site until 1840, recovering guns, bows, timbers and some small finds.

Then the Mary Rose story ground to a halt until maritime archaeologists, led by historian Alexander McKee, discovered the ship's position again in 1967.

Between 1979 and 1982, the ship was surveyed and excavated with more than 25,000 historical treasures brought ashore, in preparation for the ship's recovery.

Her contents provide a fascinating insight into Tudor maritime life and into English life in general in the 16th century.

Objects made of wood, pewter, leather, wool and silk all survived and had to be catalogued and carefully preserved.

Archaeologists turned detective to use clues from the treasures to show what life was like on board the Mary Rose.

Animal bones provided evidence of the crew's diet, carefully crafted combs with narrow teeth indicated there might have been hair hygiene problems on board, and primitive marks on personal belongings showed that many of the crew were illiterate.

A study of the belongings and physical remains of the crew showed they were a group of generally young, robust men who ate fairly well, dressed reasonably and entertained themselves with music, books and games in their leisure time.

Artefacts
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