Great Expectations No.21

For those at peril on the sea

Spruce and hemp string

1.8cm x 4.2cm x 28cm

Child Lioness 2023-2024 away kit, Chalk

2026

Sewn-plank boat made by Alf Guedeney (Portsmouth & France)

Hailed as one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century, the Dover Bronze Age boat is one of the oldest sea-going boats in the world. It is around 3,500 years old, having been built around the time that the final touches were being made to Stonehenge, fifteen centuries before the Romans arrived in Britain and 2,300 years before the Vikings ventured across the North Sea in their longships. Other sewn-plank boats (in the narrower Ferriby style) found in Britain date back even further to between 2030–1780BC.

On 28 September 1992, construction workers (who were building the new A20 road link between Folkestone and Dover), working alongside archaeologists uncovered what remained of a large prehistoric boat thought to be 3,500 years old. After being removed from the ground the boat was transported to Portsmouth and kept in a waterlogged state at the Mary Rose Trust. After a long process of preservation the boat returned to Dover Museum to be re-assembled in 1998.

On the weekend of 5–6 September 2026, coordinated anti-immigration protests erupted in Dover and Portsmouth, sparked by the arrival of Channel-crossing small boats. The demonstrations, which involved road blockages and clashes with police, were largely organised by the far-right activist Daniel Thomas (known as "Danny Tommo") under the banner of the "Patriot Platform".