Crowds flock to see wreck cannon

Tuesday 17th June 2008, 11:30AM BST.

A CANNON raised from Alderney’s Elizabethan wreck attracted hundreds of residents to the island’s commercial quay.

The 400-year-old artefact was displayed alongside similar finds on dive vessel Commandant Fourcault. It will head for the Tower of London today, where experts will assess it.

Archaeologist Mensun Bound directed the excavation to raise the cannon last week. He said it was wonderful to see so much interest in the wreck. ‘More than a hundred people were waiting for the ship as we came into harbour and many more have visited since.’

Alderney State’s president, Sir Norman Browse, praised Mr Bound and his team of divers and said the London exhibition could prove a great advert for the island. ‘Mensun and his team have done a wonderful job and it’s exciting to think all these artefacts are on their way to London,’ he said.