PRAWLE POINT A careless lobster fisherman is being blamed for damaging the site of one Britain’s earliest known shipwrecks.
The vessel, which sank off the South Devon coast about 3,500 years ago, was carrying a valuable cargo of swords and jewellery from France.
The site was discovered two years ago and marine archaeologists had spent £5,000 laying out a grid of lines and markers to allow a thorough excavation to begin. Buoys clearly marked the site, warning local fishermen to stay well clear. Ronald Howell, secretary of the South West Maritime Archaeological Group, said that the bouys and grid lines had been cut away. He said: “It is a devastating setback.
“We also found a new lobster pot in the area, which was not there last week. I suspect this is the fault of one careless fisherman with a winch of some sort.”
Tim Robins, of the Devon Sea Fisheries Committee, said that one particular vessel was suspected of causing the damage.