Video Experts Suggest They May Have Discovered A Ship Filled With Treasure Off The Coast Of Ireland
A group of shipwreck hunters believe they may have found a ship called the Recovery, which disappeared in 1787. (By Brian and Kevin Martin via Pen News)
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Underwater archaeologists may have found a long-lost 18th-century treasure ship that disappeared more than two hundred years ago.
Marine expert Edmond O'Byrne told Pen News his team had discovered what is believed to be the Recovery – a British ship lost off the coast of Wexford, Ireland, in 1787.
The ship carried a variety of treasures, including significant quantities of marble and bronze. James Caulfield, 1st Earl of Charlemont, collected the valuable materials during his voyage around Europe.
On board were rare works of art and natural curiosities belonging to John La Touche, one of Ireland's richest bankers of the time.
However, the ship met its fate when it sank 85 miles south of Dublin, where it was apparently headed. The vessel had recently stopped in London after setting off from Italy.
Underwater archaeologists may have discovered the Recovery, an 18th-century treasure ship lost off the coast of Wexford, Ireland. (Getty Images; Brian and Kevin Martin via Pen News)
The crash killed six people, including the captain and his two sons.
The ship was virtually forgotten until researchers stumbled upon its supposed remains.
In a recent interview with Pen News, O'Byrne said his side-scan sonar once “picked up an unusual object on the seabed.”
“The ship was at the mercy of the sea.”
He explained: “At first I thought it was a torpedo because the side-scan sonar image looked a little distorted.”
But the wreck showed its age when its crew spotted a copper casing. Copper was used by the Royal Navy in the 18th century to protect wooden ships from barnacles and shipworms.
“When we got down [underwater], it turned out to be a 20-foot-long rudder covered in copper sheeting,” O'Byrne recalls. “That was his identification.”
He added: “In 1773, when the Recovery was built in Chester, she was one of about 200 ships in Britain's merchant fleet of about 10,000 whose hulls were copper-plated.”
Marine archaeologists also found an 18th-century anchor at the wreck site. (Brian and Kevin Martin via Pen News)
“All the wrecks we have records of were not copper plated.”
Using the drone, the researchers also spotted a piece of wood sticking out of a sandbank that O'Byrne said “definitely belonged to the ship.”
“It could have been any piece of wood, but when I asked the pilot to fly closer, I saw that there was a nail hole in this board,” he said.
“I told one of the crew to go down and pick it up, and when he did, there was a two-foot by one-foot copper plate nailed to the board.”
The team also found an anchor, wooden fittings and artefacts including a teapot and inkwells.
Some of the finds provide clues to how the ship sank: for example, a rudder was found about 800 feet from the wreck site.
Experts believe the ship was carrying valuable cargo that may still be in good condition. (Brian and Kevin Martin via Pen
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