The Swash Channel Wreck is the remains of an early 17th-century armed merchantman possibly of Dutch origin wrecked outside of Poole Harbour. The vessel was approximately 40 m long and has been predicted to be around 600 tonnes. The ship was probably involved with the beginning of internationalization. The archaeological evidence, including the small number of guns, the position of the galley, wooden sheathing, ornate carvings and that only one row of knees is present on the wreck, suggest that the vessel was a high-status merchantman bound for the tropics. Dendrochronology dates the ship's timbers to 1628 from the Dutch/German Border. Approximately 40% of the port side of the wreck remains from above the keel line to the stern and bow castles. Designation The site was designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973; it was designated on 10 December 2004, when heritage minister Andrew McIntosh said: "This is an important wreck ... it is likely to be well preserved and rare in terms of its quality and the quantity of the surviving structure ... This order is particularly timely as the location of the wreck has been publicised and we need to protect it from potential damage by divers visiting the site." The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by Historic England. Site investigations The site was first located in March 1990 when the Dutch dredger Scaldis hit an obstruction whilst dredging close to Buoy No 3 in the Swash Channel. Substantial timbers and a single iron cannon were brought to the surface. The cannon ended up in Poole Museum store but maritime archaeology in Poole was focused on the Studland Bay Wreck and no further investigation took place. In 2004 Wessex Archaeology on behalf of Poole Harbour Commissioners and Poole Borough Council conducted a geophysical survey, and the site was re-discovered as a sidescan sonar anomaly Wessex Archaeology undertook a designated site assessment for English Heritage in 2005, recording a zone of structure approximately 20 m in length and reporting that further remains were known to exist. The structure included parts of the ship's forecastle, complete with galley and gunports, which is extremely rare as ships’ upper works are usually destroyed during the wrecking. Importantly the structure showed signs of being recently exposed, and after a short time it was seen to be degrading. Bournemouth University was approached by English Heritage in 2006 to investigate the possibility of