The 70-gun war ship Resolution, sunk off Sussex in 1703,
recently discovered by divers on the seabed in Pevensey Bay, off
the Sussex coast. The site comprises a cluster of at least 45
iron guns lying on top of ballast material, other artefacts and
timber hull structure. Archaeological investigations to date
have concentrated on confirming the identity of the site to be
that of the Resolution primarily through the recording of the
ordnance and ballast. The Resolution was built in Harwich
between 1665 and 1667 and was one of only three third-rate
vessels built by noted maritime architect Sir Anthony Deane. In
1669, the Resolution was the flagship in an expedition against
the Barbary Corsairs and took part in the unsuccessful attack on
the Dutch Smyrna convoy, which resulted in the Third Dutch War.
The Resolution sank during the Great Storm on 26 November 1703,
after being blown across the Solent, striking the Owers Banks
six or seven times before the crew was able to raise a scrap of
sail and round Beachy Head.