Archaeologists Uncover Identity of 1700s Orkney Shipwreck

On Sanday, shifting sands have exposed a rare 18th-century shipwreck, now identified as the Earl of Chatham. Once the Royal Navy frigate HMS Hind, the ship later hunted whales in Arctic waters before wrecking in 1788. All 56 crew survived. Climate change revealed the wreck in 2024, prompting community-backed research led by Wessex Archaeology and funded by Historic Environment Scotland. Built with timber from southern England, the vessel’s story spans war, whaling, and survival. Sanday was once called “the cradle of shipwrecks”, and islanders helped to identify this one.