Around the Scottish coast there are a number of locations where shipwrecks have been discovered that are proven or at least believed to be wrecks of Spanish ships fleeing the English channel after the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Of the fleet of one hundred and forty one vessels that departed from Lisbon in July 1588 one hundred and twenty two reached the English Channel to participate in the unsuccessful Spanish campaign, The series of engagements between the two fleets culminating in the Battle of Gravelines on 8th August left the Armada defeated and scattered with many of the ships ordered to sail north into the North Sea to attempt the long dangerous voyage round the north of Scotland and then south down the British and Irish west coasts to return to Spain and Portugal. It is estimated that one hundred and ten ships were chased north by the English fleet under the command of Admiral Howard until they reached the latitude of the Firth of Forth. There Howard gave up the chase comfortable that none of the ships were going to attempt to land on English soil. The Spanish ships continued north, many rounding Orkney and Shetland, before heading south towards home. There are no exact records of how many made it home and how many were lost but it seems that at least twenty eight ships were lost on the return voyage, mainly on the west coast of Ireland, with ships such as the Girona which stranded at Lacada Point, County Antrim with the loss of over 1000 lives and the Tobermory Galleon among the most well known. Elsewhere El Gran Grifon is recorded lost on Fair Isle in September 1588.
Painting by Philip James de Loutherbourg representing the defeat of the Spanish Armada
The wreck discovered south west of Kinlochbervie by RAF Lossiemouth Sub-Aqua Club in 1998, which lies in position 58 26.213’N 005 06.430’W has not been confirmed as an Armada wreck and certainly no name has been suggested for the vessel wrecked there. However, the artefacts recovered, ranging from some Italian Majolica pottery fragments and iron cannon and anchors, are believed to be late 16th century which clearly ties in well to the Armada timeframe. The wreck occupies an exposed situation within a cove 4 miles SW of Kinlochbervie.
The wreck site at Kinlochbervie
The upper part of the site comprises a rocky outcrop at about 4m depth which steps down into a gully at a depth of about 14m. Two anchors and a cannon lie within a sand and gravel filled depression in a an area of high-energy environment within the surf zone. The main concentration of remains comprises two distinct groups of artefacts within an area measuring about 22 by 8m at the foot of an underwater cliff and at a depth of between 25 and 30 metres. The main deposit of the pottery assemblage was scattered over bedrock, in rock crevices and in gaps between the boulders. Mobile sand has accumulated in places, while less mobile deposits of gravel and other materials are found in the deeper gulleys. The flat sandy seabed is found at a depth of 34m.
Pottery fragment recovered from reck
