Maritime archaeologists at Bournemouth University have analyzed a 13th-century AD shipwreck found off the coast of Dorset in southern England, illuminating the trade networks that facilitated the construction and decoration of many of England's religious monuments.

The ship was found to have been transporting Purbeck stone and marble, a type of dark-colored limestone sourced from southern England that can be polished to give a marble effect.

These qualities made it desirable for decorative use in cathedrals. It was also in high demand for the production of high-status objects such as grave slabs and mortars, examples of which were found in the wreck.

This ship was operating during the ‘golden age’ of Purbeck Marble, with construction projects such as Westminster Abbey ordering entire shiploads of the stone. It is thought that almost every English ecclesiastical building built between 1170 and 1350 incorporated it.