By Sarah Griffiths PUBLISHED: 08:58 EST, 19 August 2013 | UPDATED: 09:28 EST, 19 August 2013 A carving of the face of a moustachioed warrior today greeted archaeologists as they raised part of a huge 17th century ship wreck in the English Channel. The head was carved into the 28ft long rudder section of a Dutch trading ship that sunk off Poole, Dorset, nearly 400 years ago. Its accidental discovery by a dredger led to six years of underwater investigations, which prompted experts to hail the find as the most significant since the Mary Rose. A spectacular carving of the face of a moustachioed warrior today greeted archaeologists as they raised part of a huge 17th century ship wreck in the English Channel
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Known as Swash Channel Wreck after the area where it sank in Dorset
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Archaeologists from Bournemouth University have recovered scores of artefacts including baroque carvings, shoes, plates and a compass divider
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The head was carved into the 28ft long rudder section of a Dutch trading ship that sunk nearly 400 years ago
Unlike the @placeholder, little is known of the Swash Channel Wreck, including its identity.