The find was made during work in Kingston upon Hull, a city in East Yorkshire, according to an announcement earlier this year from the Hull City Council.<\/p>\n
After the cannon was found, archaeologists from Humber Field Archaeology, a unit of Hull City Council, examined it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
WORLD’S LARGEST MEDIEVAL CARGO SHIP EMERGES FROM ITS UNDERWATER GRAVE OFF ONE COUNTRY’S COAST<\/a><\/p>\n The cast-iron cannon<\/a> likely dates to the late 17th century or early 18th century.\u00a0<\/p>\n The artifact measures nearly nine feet long and weighs over a ton, officials said.<\/p>\n Construction workers in Kingston upon Hull uncovered a centuries-old cannon during routine work, surprising archaeologists and officials alike. (Humber Field Archaeology\/Hull City Council)<\/p>\n “Initial observations indicate the cannon had been decommissioned, with the nozzle deliberately capped,” the announcement said.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Archaeologists believe<\/a> it was likely repurposed as a mooring post, a common practice in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, before being pushed into the dock area prior to it being infilled in the 1930s,” the council noted.<\/p>\n Pictures show the iron cannon heavily encrusted with dirt and corrosion after being unearthed at the site.<\/p>\n TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ<\/a><\/p>\n The discovery was “very unexpected,” said Peter Connelly, archaeology manager for Humber Field Archaeology.<\/p>\n Connelly told Fox News Digital the contractors “certainly weren\u2019t expecting a cannon to turn up” \u2014 and didn’t even realize it was a cannon at first.<\/p>\n “The archaeologists weren’t expecting it because they knew that the deposit being dug into was dock backfill,” said Connelly. (Humber Field Archaeology\/Hull City Council)<\/p>\n “The archaeologists weren’t expecting it because they knew that the deposit being dug into was dock backfill,” he said.<\/p>\n He observed, “This discovery just goes to show that people will deposit anything in a conveniently large hole in the ground when it is being backfilled.”<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER<\/a><\/p>\n While such finds are not unheard of, Connelly described the find as “definitely very rare.”<\/p>\n Hull archaeologists previously found a Henry VIII-era cannon in the late 1990s, as well as a fragment of a cannon from just before the English Civil War<\/a>.<\/p>\n Experts say the cannon was likely decommissioned before being reused as a mooring post in later centuries. (Humber Field Archaeology\/Hull City Council)<\/p>\n “This new cannon discovery is only the third of its kind<\/a> in 30 years,” said Connelly.<\/p>\n Archaeologists were instead expecting typical 20th-century “domestic refuse,” he added, as well as the “occasional accidental loss.”<\/p>\n CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES<\/a><\/p>\n “For example, a complete late 19th century glass decanter was recovered from the dock backfill \u2014 somebody was probably quite upset when they lost this,” Connelly recalled.<\/p>\n The archaeologist said the cannon showed clear signs of being deliberately decommissioned before being reused.<\/p>\n Past excavations have yielded items such as a late 19th-century glass decanter (seen at right), suggesting everyday objects were often lost in the dock area. (Humber Field Archaeology\/Hull City Council)<\/p>\n “After the dock fell out of use, and as it was being backfilled and converted to a garden, this mooring post no longer had a function and the cannon was tipped with the backfill,” he said.<\/p>\n Researchers will analyze the cannon to see whether it was made in Hull, as the city had its own cannon makers in the late 18th century<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Split](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/uk-hull-cannon-find-historic-archaeology-history-discovery-3.jpg\")
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