EXPERTS believe they have uncovered the identity of the owner of Newport's medieval ship.

The Gwent and Glamorgan Archaeological Trust (GGAT), who extracted the ship from the mud of the bank of the River Usk at the site of the new theatre and arts centre but has since been in a £100,000 dispute with Newport council, say they believe the ship was a Portuguese vessel - captured and brought to South Wales by pirates.

And they say they believe the owner of the ship was a key figure in medieval politics - the Earl of Warwick.

Since the find last July, experts have been hunting out the ship's history.

Wood that lay beneath the ship when it was found has been dated back to 1468, meaning the ship cannot have arrived in Newport any earlier than that.

And GGAT chairman Bob Trett said: "It seems likely the ship was here under the supervision of Richard Neville, then the Earl of Warwick, known to students of Shakespeare as 'Kingmaker' for his influence in removing monarchs."

Mr Trett found documents in the records office at Warwick which documented the Earl - who was in charge of Newport at the time - paying a man named John Colt £10 "for the making of a ship at Newport".

Though not certain whether this was the building of a ship or more likely simply some repairs, historians believe it likely that the ship referred to is the one found last year.

According to historians, the Earl of Warwick, as Chancellor of England, was authorised to make payments such as this in the name of defence of the realm.

Mr Trett said: "It was a wild and unruly time and Warwick, who was short of money to pay for possible war and invasions from enemies such as the once King Edward IV, was using his own fleet for piracy to boost his finances.

"Large numbers of Spanish, Portuguese and Breton ships were captured by Warwick's pirates - evidence suggests our ship came from Portugal.

"Portuguese pottery and coinage were found on the site where the ship was abandoned, as was cork which came exclusively from Portugal at that time.

"To find someone of such international importance paying for repairs to a ship in Newport at exactly the right time is tremendous."

In 1471, Edward IV, whom the Earl of Warwick had helped dethrone in 1469, replacing him with Henry VI, invaded with an army and regained his throne at the Battle of Barnett.

It was there that Warwick was killed and historians believe the Newport ship was then abandoned where it lay in Newport.

Mr Trett, who says he has enjoyed playing "detective" over the last 12 months, is working to find the name of the ship and the place and date of construction.

He will then deliver a lecture on September 8 at Allt yr Yn campus of the University College of Wales, Newport, to help promote the Newport Eisteddfod in 2004.

He said: "I think I know its name but I'm not yet sure.

"I don't believe it to be the Trinity as suggested by Professor Michael Hicks.

"The Trinity sailed much later on whereas our ship never sailed again after it hit Newport."

* Pictured: Archaologists on site last year