History Forum / General / British History / February 2004

Darwin's Beagle may lie under Essex mud

<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/reuters/brand/SIG=pd7i95/*http://www.reute
rs.com> Reuters

Mon Feb 16, 7:50 AM ET

By Jeremy Lovell

LONDON (Reuters) - A group of marine archaeologists may have solved one of
the world's most enduring maritime mysteries -- the final resting place of
HMS Beagle in which Charles Darwin developed his landmark theory of
evolution.

"This vessel is one of the most significant in the history of scientific
research," Robert Prescott of the Beagle Ship Research Group told Reuters by
telephone.

So far all that has been seen is a radar image of the outline of a hull
under some four metres (12 feet) of mud in the marshes of Essex, east of
London, with further research needed to verify that it is indeed the Beagle.

For such a famous ship, the Beagle has been frustratingly hard to find,
having disappeared from sight more than a century ago.

But Prescott, who is based at St Andrews University in Scotland, is
confident they have found their quarry.

"We have followed a carefully researched trail that has led us to this
berth," he said.

It was in the Beagle that Darwin travelled the globe for five years from
1831 carrying out survey work and gradually piecing together his
observations of species that would some 20 years later result in his epochal
book, the Origin of Species.

The book, which postulated the theory that species evolved to suit their
environments, caused an outcry in religious circles that reverberates to
this day.

After the voyage, the Beagle -- one of a type of ship that was the workhorse
of the Royal Navy -- was attached to Customs and Excise and was used to
catch smugglers along the Essex coast.

Prescott's detective work found that for many years the Beagle was moored
mid-stream on the River Roach and was home to successive families of
coastguards.

Then in 1870, at the age of 50, the ship was sold to a local firm of scrap
merchants and the record ceases.

But it is known that the firm had a small dock on the river, and it is at
this long-lost dock that the scientists have found the outline of a ship
they believe is the Beagle.

The decision now is what to do with what they have found.

"At this stage we are not considering raising the ship and conserving it. In
fact once we have verified that it is the Beagle we could just walk away,"
Prescott said.

"But it would be fascinating to find out what is left in there. Who
knows --there may be coins from Darwin's pocket or even the evidence of
insects from his voyage."