Ørsted offshore wind farm survey reveals centuries-old lead ingots

MSDS Marine During survey work on Ørsted’s Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm in the North Sea, three historic lead ingots were discovered on the seabed alongside the remains of a wooden shipwreck. In cooperation with Ørsted, Historic England, and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, MSDS Marine, a specialist marine and coastal contractor offering bespoke archaeological solutions, helped investigate, recover, and analyse the artefacts, which are thought to date to the late 17th or early 18th century. The ingots provide a glimpse into historic trade routes, England’s once-thriving lead industry, and the maritime connections that shaped Europe’s economy. Lead was an important material in historic times due to its versatility and use in the fabrication of products ranging from plumbing pipes to weaponry. It was formed into ingots so it could be transported more easily. MSDS Marine was contracted by Ørsted as archaeological advisors when the ingots were identified during investigations on potential unexploded ordnance locations. There was little structure remaining of the wooden wreck that they would have transported on, but some timbers could be seen underneath the ingots. It is quite common for the cargo to be the only visible remains of wooden-hulled shipwrecks due to the dynamic underwater environment and shipworms, which eat away at exposed timber. To find out more about the wreck site, the ingots were collected by a remotely operated vehicle for further investigation. Following recovery and recording, the three ingots, weighing around 70 kg each, will be housed at the Peak District Lead Mining Museum in Matlock, Derbyshire. This marks a return home for the ingots, as the lead from which they were made may have been mined in the same area. Ingots discovered on shipwrecks are often some of the only remaining examples of their type, as ingots by their nature were produced to be melted down. Those found on wreck sites can help provide important information about their production and trade at the time. Each ingot is stamped with a different mark, similar to those found on the wreck of the Dutch East India Company ship Kennemerland (1664), which sank off the coast of Shetland. The shape of the three ingots collected from the site is like that of those found on other 18th-century shipwrecks, including the Zuiddorp , a Dutch East India Company vessel that sank off the coast of Western Australia in 1712. The ones at the Hornsea 3 site were found on board a vessel which may have been Dutch en route to the Netherlands. At the time, England produced vast quantities of lead, particularly from mines in Derbyshire and the Peak District, and there was a healthy trade in ingots shipped from Hull and London to Amsterdam and Rotterdam. The wreck found at Hornsea 3 lies directly on the route from Hull to the Netherlands. “In creating the future with the Hornsea 3 Offshore Wind Farm, we’re also careful to acknowledge and preserve the past. There’s so much rich history attached to our onshore and offshore sites, which are a valuable part of the UK story. We want to ensure that it is protected and celebrated,” said Luke Bridgman, managing director of Hornsea 3. “It has been fascinating to see this story unfold, from the point of discovering the ingots through to seeing them being put on display at the Peak District Mining Museum. There’s so much to learn from historic shipwrecks and cargoes that are discovered during offshore development, and this shows the positive way we’ve all worked together to explore and study this shipwreck,” added Christopher Pater, head of marine planning at Historic England. When constructed, Hornsea 3 will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm, capable of generating 2.9GW of clean energy, enough to power more than 3.3m UK homes. Bojan Lepic Bojan is an English language professor turned journalist with years of experience covering the energy industry with a focus on the oil, gas, and LNG industries as well as reporting on the rise of the energy transition. Previously, he had written for Navingo media group titles including Offshore Energy Today and LNG World News. Before joining Splash, Bojan worked as an editor for Rigzone online magazine. Read Next June 26, 2026 Splash Wrap: Hormuz hope dashed June 26, 2026 A Career in Shipping: The truth about getting a job in maritime June 26, 2026 Seized tanker tests the limits of shadow fleet enforcement June 26, 2026 France boards another Russian shadow fleet tanker off Sicily June 26, 2026 Aker Solutions lands long-term offshore services deal in Canada