Archaeology Discovery Centre

About

The Archaeology Discover Centre (formerly Sunken Secrets and the Underwater Archaeology Centre) was a museum located in Fort Victoria on the Isle of Wight, England. The museum was run by archaeologists based on the Isle of Wight. It was housed in five of the fort's former casemates. Since it was opened in 1990 the museum was used to display exhibits recovered from several local shipwrecks and the submerged landscapes of the Solent. These include the wrecks of HMS Pomone, HMS Invincible, the Yarmouth Roads Wreck and Bouldnor Cliff. The museum also houses an exhibition about the history of Fort Victoria itself.

History: After the wreck of HMS Pomone was discovered at The Needles in 1969, the Isle of Wight Council funded a team to research and excavate the site. In 1984 another wreck was discovered immediately offshore of Yarmouth and work began excavating that site as well. In 1990 the Isle of Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology was founded and began operating a museum at Fort Victoria called the Maritime Heritage Exhibition. Several finds from the excavations were displayed in the museum, whilst others went to the Royal Naval Museum in Portsmouth and Bembridge Maritime Museum...