Mary Rose - Archer Royal

c.1523-1545

Died in 1545 when the Royal Navy flagship Mary Rose sank at the Battle of the Solent. Found wearing a leather jerkin and with a longbow nearby. His skeleton had some twisting of the spine and grooved right finger bones both common features of other skeletons found with archery equipment. A leather wristguard with Henry VIII’s and Katherine of Aragon’s badges suggest he may have been a Royal Archer. Teeth analysis indicates he grew up in a hot climate some distance from the sea, it's thought in North Africa.