AN ornate statue rescued from a shipwreck off Poole shows the vessel was once a queen of the seas.

The wooden Merman graced the back of a boat lost half a mile from the harbour in about 1620.

And the find by Bournemouth University staff and students shows it was no ordinary vessel.

David Parham, 43, a marine archaeology lecturer in charge of the project, said: "These carvings show someone was making a statement with this ship."

The merman, which is around 1.4m tall and weights up to 40 kilos, was recovered earlier this month.

It has empty eye sockets that could have been decorated with precious stones, and a northern European style face.

It was initially stored in salt water tanks to preserve it, and after being x-rayed and studied it may one day end up in Poole museum.

One of the team has noticed its lower half is being eaten away by boreworms usually found in the Mediterranean.

That is possible evidence of global warming and is an ominous sign for similar wrecks still lying off England's south coast.

The ship itself would have been around 40m long, unusually big for its era, larger than the flagship of the British fleet that fought the Spanish Armada in 1588.

The wreck was discovered in late 2004 and lies around 7m down in The Swash, the route used by cross channel ferries.

Mr Parham said: "We've found seven iron cannon and there's indications of barrels of cargo. We're not sure if it was a merchant ship or a warship."

The university team is trying to trace the vessel's story on land and hopes to have another 10-14 days diving this year thanks to Jenkins Marine of Poole. An eight-metre-long rudder topped with carvings still lies in the sediment.

Students have been taking part in the dives and this autumn the university launches a masters course in marine archaeology.

Charles Elder, Bournemouth University's press officer, said: "It's very rare for students to get this much experience on a course."