To:

* The Chief Executives of The Arts Council for Wales, Cadw and the Heritage Lottery Fund;
* Jenny Randerson, Minister for Culture, Sport and the Welsh Language, National Assembly for Wales;
* Sue Essex, Minister for the Environment, National Assembly for Wales;
* Tessa Blackstone, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport;
*The Chairman and Elected Members of Newport City Council

Dear Sirs and Madams,

I am writing to you to express my wholehearted support of the Newport Save Our Ship campaign which is calling for the full excavation and recovery of the medieval ship recently discovered during the construction of the new theatre and arts centre in Newport, Wales.

Expert archaeological opinion is clear that this is a unique ship of national and international significance; it is in an excellent state of preservation, and has a story to tell about key developments in shipbuliding and Wales's international relations 550 years ago. I understand that recovery of the timbers is a viable, cost-effective option.

Newport City Council, Cadw and the Welsh Assembly are to be commended for working together to get this far with recording the ship. It is now vital that enough time and money are secured to get all of the ship's timbers out of the ground with full archaeological recording, and into temporary storage tanks. This will ensure recovery of full information about the ship and will allow time to fully explore the possibility of long-term preservation and presentation of this wonderful discovery while construction work resumes.

The present commitment only to make a record and keep a sample is not enough - it immediately closes down for ever a whole range of options for bringing history to life for future generations. This is an opportunity for the future not a problem of the past.

Please act together now to prevent the loss of this internationally important archaeological treasure. Doing nothing will scupper the chance of turning this fantastic find into a real social, cultural, economic and educational asset for the people of Newport, Wales and the wider world.

Yours faithfully