Maiden voyage of Bronze Age boat founders - Telegraph.co.uk

The spokeswoman said the boat would be moved to a trailer on the seafront so visitors could take a look and speak to the archaeologists.

She added: "They are going to patch it up and try to do this again. It's a bit disappointing for them but they were so behind schedule they could not do their test run."

The construction and launch of the boat was the first stage of a three-year programme of events that make up the project.

The vessel will be taken to France, where it will form the centrepiece of a major multilingual, international exhibition Beyond the Horizon: Societies of the Channel and North Sea 3,500 years ago, which opens in Boulogne-sur-Mer on June 30, before moving to Belgium in December and returning to Dover in July next year, the spokeswoman said.

Educational activities will also aim to increase awareness of the common cultural heritage in France, the UK and Belgium, she said.