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LONDON - In 1938, a labourer building a pub car park in Wirral unearthed part of an old boat 3m below ground.
His foreman told him to cover it up, because an archaeological dig would have slowed down construction.
Nearly 70 years later, investigators are finally close to solving the mystery of the vessel. Radar scans have shown the outline of a what appears to be a Viking boat beneath the car park of the Railway Inn at Meols.
John McRae, the builder who discovered the boat in 1938, told the story to his family. Before he died in 1991, his son asked him to describe what he had seen. The details were sent to archaeologists at Liverpool University, who put them on record. When the pub's owner sought planning permission, details of the boat emerged.
It's hoped a more detailed investigation and possibly a dig will be carried out.
- Independent
