In late June, the team began investigating a series of upright timbers along one of the proposed wall lines. As the mud was cleared away, it gradually became clear that the archaeologists had in fact chanced upon the remains of a large ship, almost entirely contained within the coffer-dam.  It soon became apparent that the archaeologists had in fact chanced upon a find of international significance

The ship lay in a disfigured fashion, with the starboard (right-hand) side having flattened out over the centuries. And the port (left-hand) side had been neatly cut at some point, probably to make way for a new quay.  The coffer dam had unfortunately cut off the stern and the prow, though parts of the prow were later rescued.  The upper parts of the ship no longer existed because the timbers had been salvaged shortly after it was abandoned.