THE Newport med-ieval ship has cost more than £3.7m so far, according to documents released under pressure from the Argus. The excavation was £362,848 but there were a series of additonal costs taking the total up to £455,000.

The viewing chamber at the Riverfront theatre added £1.8m and compensation to contractors delayed while the ship was unearthed cost £1.3m. The Argus had to use the new Freedom of Inform-ation Act to force the council to reveal the figures, which show for the first time the huge total cost of the discovery.

The council said the figures include an "allowance" for the recent legal settlement with archaelogists from Gwent-Glamorgan Archaeological Trust claiming £118,438 in unpaid fees.

And this month the council warned that it alone cannot pay the annual £300,000 needed for the coming years to analyse and maintain the timbers.

Charles Ferris, of the Friends of Newport Ship, said: "The lion's share of these costs is the viewing chamber and the delay to the contractors. Neither is really the ship's fault.

"The council should have taken out insurance to cover the delay costs. And is the viewing chamber the right place for the ship?

"We need to think like a city when looking at the costs. The ship is unique and will make Newport famous.But money doesn't grow on trees and the council must look for funding wherever it can find it."

The fifteenth century ship was found in June 2002 during the construction of the Riverfront theatre.

It is being studied in a warehouse in Maesglas and experts say it will not go on public display at the Riverfront for another decade.

The Assembly has awarded Newport council £3.5m to help cover the project's costs. The council has drawn on £2.9m of the grant and spent £928,000 from its own resources.

Mike Lewis, museums and heritage officer at the council, said he hoped the release of costings could "draw a line under" the effect of the ship on the Riverfront. Kate Hunter, Newport ship project leader, said she was preparing a bid for £500,000 of extra non-council funding.