The Grave in the Sands: The Lost Fleet of 1703 and the Resurrection of the Northumberland

By Michael Evans Paulson

The Grave in the Sands: The Lost Fleet of 1703 and the Resurrection of the Northumberland
In the heart of the English Channel, beneath the shifting sands of the treacherous Goodwin Sands, lies the shattered skeleton of a warship lost to time-and storm. HMS Northumberland, a 70-gun symbol of Britain's rising naval might, met her tragic end in the ferocious Great Storm of 1703, along with three sister ships and hundreds of sailors. For centuries, the wreck remained hidden-until a fisherman's net snagged a piece of history in 1979.
In this richly researched and vividly told book, The Grave in the Sands reconstructs the epic saga of Northumberland, from her construction under the naval reforms of Samuel Pepys to her violent destruction amid one of the most catastrophic storms in British history. Blending maritime archaeology, historical narrative, and modern science, the book explores: The brutal meteorology of the 1703 storm and its devastating toll on the Royal NavyThe perilous geography of Goodwin Sands, one of the world's most lethal ship trapsThe 2023 underwater survey that revealed the remarkably preserved remains-hull timbers, cannons, muskets, cookware, and mysterious sealed chestsThe multidisciplinary race to document the wreck before it vanishes again beneath the seaThe legal, ethical, and scientific debates around recovering artifacts from a war graveThe wreck's powerful message for today's archaeologists, climate scientists, and curators of national memoryWith contributions from maritime engineers, conservators, digital modelers, and archaeologists from Historic England, this book captures the urgency, danger, and wonder of deep-sea exploration-and the importance of preserving what the past still has to teach us.
Perfect for readers of shipwreck history, naval warfare, underwater archaeology, or fans of The Wager, In the Heart of the Sea, and Ghosts of the Abyss, The Grave in the Sands is a haunting chronicle of a lost warship, the sea that swallowed it, and the people fighting to uncover its final chapter.

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0FKY5HQRR
• ISBN13: 9798296090355
• Release Date: August 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 120 Pages
• Weight: 0.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"