This site was not investigated by the Thames Archaeological Survey. Preliminary research by the Thames Discovery Programme suggests that the timbers on the foreshore came from at least one of four ships, HMSs Duke of Wellington, Hannibal, Edgar and Anson, broken up at the Castle’s Shipbreaking Yard during the late 19th / early 20th century. Thus, this site preserves archaeological evidence for one of the most revolutionary periods of naval development – in less than 40 years the ships of Nelson had been replaced by steel battleships, powered by steam engines and mounting huge guns. Apart from submerged shipwrecks, this may well be the only known evidence of vessels from this period in Europe.