Mary Rose: scientists identify shipwreck's elite archers by RSI - Telegraph.co.uk

Testing how the bows were used, by using real-life archers, has also been undertaken.

Scientists say they have uncovered evidence of repetitive stress injuries among the bowmen, the elite soldiers of their day, which they believe came from hours of longbow practice.

Nick Owen, a sport and exercise biochemist who is leading the work, said yesterday that the developments would help uncover more about the individuals who died with their ship.

The DNA breakthrough had enabled his team to embark on more detailed profiling.

"We know plenty about the Mary Rose but much less about the people on board," said Mr Owen, from the university's college of engineering.

"The archers were the elite but the longbows they used took a toll of their bodies and you can see signs of repetitive stress in the shoulders and lower spine."

A Swedish expert is also working on facial reconstructions for the new Mary Rose Trust museum, which is due to open next year.

At the time, many archers were thought to have travelled from Wales and other areas in the south west of England and were considered the elite warriors of their day.

Previous studies have shown that they lived off a diet of salt beef and biscuits. Their diet also included flour, oatmeal, suet, cheese, dried pork, beer and salted cod.

"They were 6ft 2in or 6ft 3in, and strapping individuals," Mr Owen said.

"A longbow was 6ft 6in and made from a particular part of a yew tree to generate incredibly efficient 'spring'.

"It was mega hi-tech, and it gave England and Wales military superiority. These archers were the elite athletes of their day."

He added to the BBC: "It took years for these Archers to train to get to a level where they could use these very heavy bows."

Alexzandra Hildred, the curator of ordnance at the Mary Rose Trust, has said the injuries could be the result of "shooting heavy longbows regularly".

"Many of the skeletons recovered show evidence of repetitive stress injuries of the shoulder and lower spine," she said.

"Being able to quantify the stresses and their effect on the skeleton may enable us at last to isolate an elite group of professional archers from the ship."

Named for Henry VIII's favourite sister, Mary Tudor, later queen of France, the ship was part of a large build-up of naval force by the new king between 1510 and 1515.