'The Dig' exhibition - Treasures from the 18th century slipways

December 5, 2025

Now open to visitors until March 2026!

The Buckler’s Hard Shipyard Trust has opened a new free exhibition at the historic shipbuilding village of Buckler’s Hard telling the story and showing the finds of this summer’s archaeological dig of the largest slipway.

Buckler’s Hard village is famous as the private shipyard where 55 wooden warships were built on the banks of the Beaulieu River in Hampshire for the Royal Navy including Nelson’s favourite HMS Agamemnon.

The shipyard was in use from 1744 until 1971 when the operations moved upstream, leaving the historic site to be remarkably preserved and undisturbed.

A huge amount of ‘finds’ were discovered in the dig of the no 2 slipway, and these are now on display in the Shipwrights Gallery along with information on the history of the shipyard site and what we learnt about the revealed 18th century structures.

Iron nails, staples, copper plate and nails, ceramics, glass, bottles, clay pipes, bones and even some more modern 20th debris from the time when the slipway was used in WW2 were all found during the three-week summer dig.

Identify unknown ‘finds’

The recent dig at Bucklers Hard uncovered a fascinating array of artifacts, but some of them still hold their secrets. Could you be the one to solve the mystery?

Take a close look at these intriguing finds and see if you can figure out what they are. Write down your best guesses on the paper provided and add your voice to the story of these remarkable 18th-century slipways.

This free exhibition is open every day 10am – 4pm in the Shipwrights Gallery until mid-March, the building at the top of the riverside slipways.

Buckler’s Hard is open seven days a week in the heart of the New Forest National Park, with its beautiful riverside historic setting and Museum telling its story.
For more details see www.bhshipyardtrust.org.uk.

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