On September 6, 1962, archaeologist Peter Marsden uncovered the first Blackfriars Ship one of northern Europe’s earliest preserved seagoing ships.

In 1962 I unexpectedly discovered in London the oldest seagoing sailing ship yet found in northern Europe, sunk about 150 AD. Also, it happened to be the first identified example of shipbuilding by the native Celtic people of NW Europe and was probably like those used by the native Dumnonii in SW England. Peter Marsden The Illustrated Talks – Peter Marsden D.Phil, FSA Archaeologist, Speaker, Author.

Marsden and his crew discovered the sunken remains of a 150 CE seagoing ship near Blackfriars Bridge in London, UK.  It was carrying a 26 ton cargo of Kentish ragstone bricks when it sunk in the Thames.  3 more shipwrecks from later periods were found in the same area, giving them the collective name of Blackfriars Shipwrecks.

No stamp has been issued about the Blackfriars ships, so, a stamp about the bridge itself, where they were located, will have to suffice.

Bridges of London – Blackfriars Bridge
Issued by Royal Mail in 2002
Designed by Robert Maude and Sarah Davies

Remains of a Roman-era ship were discovered by Peter Marsden in 1962 in the bed of the River Thames, off Blackfriars in the City of London, and excavated in 1962-1963. it got the name Blackfriars Ship 1. It was a wreck that lay about 120 metres from where the shore would have been in Roman times at the south-west corner of the Roman city of Londinium. The remains of the forward half of the ship and the extreme aft timbers were excavated. The forward half had been damaged during modern construction work. The aft half remains unexcavated. Some timbers are preserved at the Shipwreck Heritage Centre, Hastings, and in the Museum of London.
Blackfriars ship 1 (+160) | MaSS

The ship was a flat bottomed ship, 16–17 metres long, and 6 metres wide at the beam. 

For some good details head over to NAVISone -> Object Information Page. 

In 2024, the SOD featured the return of Magellan’s remaining crew from his historic circumnavigation. Sept. 6 the Nao Victoria returns to Spain – Bitter Grounds Magazine