On today’s Archaeology Wednesday, Tony and The Team investigate what may be the last existing member of Admiral Nelson’s famed fleet.

Tony Robinson and Phil Harding from Time Team join divers from the British Government’s Archaeological Diving Unit, fighting to recover a massive carved wooden statue and other artefacts from the shipwreck of HMS Colossus, and endeavour to piece together the loss of this Napoleonic-era 18th century warship. Using the reconditioned HMS Victory as a reference, it was clear that the carving was detail from the left hand rear windows of the vessel. When permission to film the site became problematic in 2002, sonar and magnetic surveys (and associated dives) were also carried out elsewhere in the area. The statue was subsequently successfully retrieved and sent off for preservation.