About

Background

The Thistlegorm Project is part of a wider maritime archaeology project called Presence in the Past, which is a Newton Fund project directed by Dr Jon Henderson of the University of Nottingham. When the rest of the world thinks about Egypt and its history, places such as Pyramids and the Sphinx are widely known but the history goes far wider and deeper (no pun intended!) that these iconic places. The underwater heritage is out of reach to most, so the University of Nottingham, Ain Shams (Cairo) and Alexandria University are collaborating on 3D and virtual reality platform that bring submerged subjects to the surface and let everyone appreciate just what lies on the seabed.

Why the SS Thistlegorm?

The SS Thistlegorm is widely known amongst the diving community and regularly appears in those “top ten” dive lists that appear from time to time. But the wreck and its story is hardly known outside of the diving community. Bringing such an iconic and popular shipwreck to the surface and telling its tale as a 3D model and 360 video the Thistlegorm the ideal candidate.

At Risk

Both the ship itself, its history and the cargo carried makes the Thistlegorm extremely interesting subject to scan. But there was another reason: After 76 years of immersion in salt water the Thistlegorm is at risk. The numbers of dive boats that visit and moor to the wreck are placing a strain on the ship that is damaging the site. By establishing a baseline survey future  changes to the structure can be monitored.

Funding

The project is funded by the British Council Newton Fund. The Newton Fund aims to promote the economic development and social welfare of either the partner countries or, through working with the partner country, to address the well being of communities.