For thousands of years, no ship could sail without hemp. Its fibre was the material of choice for the ropes, rigging and sails that powered exploration and trade across the world's oceans. A single large sailing vessel could require tens of tonnes of hemp for its rigging alone — every rope, cable and sail depended on it.

Hemp's resistance to saltwater made it far superior to many alternatives, and sailors trusted their lives to its strength. The great age of exploration, which connected continents and reshaped the world, was quite literally held together by hemp. This hall celebrates the plant that carried humanity across the seas.