Raising the Dead: The Skeleton Crew of Henry VIII’s Great Ship, the Mary Rose

In “Raising The Dead,” A.J.Stirland uses archaeological and skeletal evidence to give the reader a welcome insight into the lives of the mariners and soldiers of the Mary Rose, King Henry VIII’s favourite warship before she sank in 1545. This book examines the building, sinking and raising of the Mary Rose and her historical context before moving on to the examination of what the remains of the crew can reveal to us about fighting men of that period, from their ages and height to their health, diet and physical condition. This is the first book to deal with the men who made up the crew of the Mary Rose. It provides an exciting glimpse of Tudor life and the Tudor navy, relating archaeological findings to existing documentary evidence, opening a fascinating window into one of Henry VIII’s Great Ships and a frozen moment of sixteenth-century time.