Divers discovered ceramic treasures on a sunken steamship off the coast of Scotland (13 photos)

Graham Bruce, 65, from Oban, was on a diving expedition off Arran, an island off the west coast of Scotland, last summer. A group of seven divers found the SS Eagle at a depth of 50 metres, with its holds full of ceramics and glass, mostly from the legendary Scottish brand Bell's Pottery.





The items found included glass bottles of drinks, a decanter of liquid, a plate and a saucer with an eagle - apparently the emblem of the ship.

They also found an iron steamship bell with an intricate model of an eagle on top, a clue to the name of the ship.

Bruce, a retired engineer, has been diving for more than 35 years. The rest of the team had never dived a wreck before. He said: “You could hear the excitement when they found things.”



Bruce returned to Arran and spent three days cataloguing what they had found and where. Over the course of three dives, an experienced diver, accompanied by underwater photographer Naomi Watson, brought artefacts to the surface by hand.

Although much of the wreck was destroyed by iron corrosion, the cargo was preserved. The surviving items were given to the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery in Glasgow for evaluation. All of the treasures were manufactured in 1841 by Bell's Pottery, a company run by brothers John and Matthew Purston Bell in Glasgow. The company specialised in bathroom ceramics, jugs, tableware and tea sets popular in the UK and US. The products were exported all over the world - Bell's Pottery can be found in South America, Australia, Canada and elsewhere.





Graham Bruce





The team also included (from left to right): Adam Bolton, trip organiser Nathan Messer, Martin Sharp, John Eden, Mike Robinson and skipper Jason Coles

Expert Ruth Impey was struck by the variety of pieces and their remarkable state of preservation. “They are in such a beautiful state because they were buried in the mud at the bottom of the sea,” she explained.

There is a lot of artisanal pottery, which is intricate hand-painted designs on a plain background. The technique originated in Scotland in the 1830s. The variety of the collection is truly impressive: not only bottles and crockery were recovered from the seabed, but also a toilet.

Glasgow was famous for its pottery in the 19th century and was the centre of the Scottish pottery industry at the time.







Preserved in bottles drinks



A plate with an eagle on it, which is consistent with the ship's supposed name - SS Eagle



The SS Eagle was launched in Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire, in 1857. It was carrying over 50 passengers, 20 crew members, and 200 sheep, which were the main cargo. It is believed that it was bound for Northern Ireland.

In 1859, a damaged ship being towed collided with the SS Eagle, causing the ship to sink, killing 11 people.







Part of the ship's toilet mechanism