Latest news with #Wreckwatch
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
300-year-old pirate-plundered shipwreck that once held 'eyewatering treasure' discovered off Madagascar
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Archaeologists say they've found the submerged wreck of a sailing ship captured in 1721 near Madagascar, during one of history's most infamous pirate raids. The American researchers, from the Center for Historic Shipwreck Preservation, have investigated the wreck for 16 years and now think it's the remains of Nossa Senhora do Cabo, a Portuguese ship carrying cargo from India that was attacked and seized by pirates, among them the notorious pirate captain Olivier "The Buzzard" Levasseur. The wreck now lies on the floor of a small harbor on the island of Nosy Boraha off the northeast coast of Madagascar, which was a hangout known as Île Sainte-Marie during the "Golden Age of Piracy" in the early 18th century. New details of the investigations have been published in the latest issue of Wreckwatch magazine. The identification of the wreck is "supported by multiple lines of evidence," the center's co-founder and director Brandon Clifford, one of the researchers, told Live Science in an email. These include analysis of the structure of the ship from its underwater remains, historical records and artifacts found in the wreckage. Among them are devotional figurines and objects made from wood and ivory, including one that depicts Jesus' mother Mary; part of a crucifix; and an ivory plaque inscribed with gold letters that read "INRI." (According to the Christian gospels, these letters were inscribed by the Romans above the crucified Jesus and stood for "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" in Latin.) The researchers think these artifacts were made in Goa, which was then the center of a Portuguese colony on India's west coast, and were being shipped to Lisbon in Portugal. Related: 'Pirate' shipwrecks that sank in 1710 off Costa Rica are actually remains of Danish slave ships Image 1 of 3 A sonar image of the seafloor shows the wreck thought to be that of Nossa Senhora do Cabo. Researchers think there are at least four pirate wrecks in the main harbor on the island of Nosy Boraha, off Madagascar. Image 2 of 3 A mosaic image of the harbor floor shows overlapping piles of ballast stones from ships' hulls. The ballast pile from Nossa Senhora do Cabo is at the right. Image 3 of 3 The island of Nosy Boraha off Madagascar's northeast coast was once a notorious hangout for European pirates known as Île Sainte-Marie. According to records, Nossa Senhora do Cabo (Portuguese for "Our Lady of the Cape") had left Goa early in 1721 bound for Lisbon, with the outgoing Portuguese viceroy and the Archbishop of Goa both on board. But the vessel was attacked and captured by a group of pirate ships on April 8, 1721, near the French island of La Réunion (also known as Réunion Island) in the Indian Ocean. The treasure it carried included ingots of gold and chests full of pearls, according to the researcher Denis Piat in his book "Pirates & Privateers in Mauritius" (Didier Millet, 2014). Image 1 of 3 Artifacts recovered at the wreck site include gold coins inscribed with Arabic writing and pieces of fine porcelain. Image 2 of 3 The researchers have recovered several religious figurines and other devotional objects made from wood and ivory, presumably at Goa. Image 3 of 3 More than 3,300 artifacts have now been recovered from the wreck, but many others are still covered by sand and silt. Clifford and his colleague Mark Agostini, an archaeologist at Brown University, said the Portuguese ship had already been badly damaged in a storm and had jettisoned most of its cannons to stay afloat; and so it was captured with little resistance. The viceroy was eventually ransomed, but it's not known what became of the archbishop. About 200 enslaved people from Mozambique below decks, but there are no records of what happened to them. According to Clifford and Agostini, the entire haul was "an eyewatering treasure, even by pirate standards," and the cargo alone may have been worth more than $138 million in today's money. The pirates then steered their captured prize toward Madagascar, about 400 miles (650 kilometers) west of La Réunion, to divide up their loot. The researchers wrote that Île Sainte-Marie was chosen by European pirates because its sheltered anchorages were close to major shipping lanes. It was also known for its "absence of colonial governance," making it an ideal pirate base. RELATED STORIES —Coins worth over $1 million recovered from 1715 Spanish treasure shipwrecks in Florida —'It is a treasure': Wreck off Kenyan coast may be from Vasco da Gama's final voyage —Mayday! 22 mysterious shipwrecks you can see on Google Earth Clifford added that between seven and 10 shipwrecks were wrecked or scuttled near Île Sainte-Marie during the Golden Age of Piracy and "at least four pirate shipwrecks or their prizes lie in the harbor itself." Agostini, meanwhile, told Live Science in an email that more than 3,300 artifacts had now been recovered from the wreck of Nossa Senhora do Cabo, but that the overlying silt and sand had made further recoveries difficult. He added that archaeologists had previously overlooked Île Sainte-Marie and the scientific treasures it contained. "Ideally, future fieldwork will lead to more analysis of the many wrecks there," Agostini said. Editor's note: This story was updated at 2:32 p.m. ET to remove a detail about a gold- and ruby-encrusted cross being on the ship at the time of its capture. This cross was mentioned in a book about the shipwreck, but Live Science has since learned that it might be a myth.
The Guardian
11-03-2025
- Science
- The Guardian
Mystery of Jersey's huge iron age hoard may have been solved
The mystery of why the world's largest iron age Celtic hoard was buried on the south-east coast of Jersey more than 2,000 years ago may have been solved by archaeologists. When about 70,000 silver coins, 11 gold torques and jewellery were unearthed in a field at Le Câtillon in the Grouville district in 2012, experts were unable to explain why it had been transported to a remote and unpopulated area with dangerous coastal reefs. Now a geophysical survey around the site has identified a possible Celtic settlement, which means Jersey was no isolated backwater in the mid-first century BC. A study of the site is published this week by the magazine Wreckwatch, with support from the educational Highlands Foundation of detectorists Reg Mead and Richard Miles had immediately reported their discovery to Jersey Heritage. As a crown dependency, it was processed under the England, Wales and Northern Ireland Treasure Trove Act 1996, leading to its acquisition by Jersey's government for £4.25m. The finds are displayed at La Hougue Bie Museum in Jersey. The detectorists have joined experts in researching the hoard, which is believed to have originated in the ancient French region of Armorica, which is modern-day Brittany and Normandy, as almost all the coins are linked to the Coriosolitae tribe, whose name may derive from the Celtic corios, meaning army or troop. Archaeologists believe the riches were hurriedly transported overseas to Jersey to ensure they did not fall into the hands of Julius Caesar's Roman army during the Gallic wars. In the geophysical survey, the team found linear anomalies spanning several tens of metres, parallel and perpendicular to each other, some with subdivisions that resemble late iron age rural Celtic settlements in northern France. Dr Hervé Duval-Gatignol, Société Jersiaise's archaeologist, said: 'This could represent part of a rectilinear enclosure consistent with known forms of rural settlements of late iron age date in Armorica.' Small magnetic anomalies suggest pits and postholes of buildings. Dr Sean Kingsley, Wreckwatch's editor-in-chief and an archaeologist who has explored more than 350 shipwrecks in the last 30 years, said the Celts were innovative boatbuilders and sailors: 'By the time Caesar attacked Brittany in 56BC, the Celts' seaborne trade was a well-oiled machine. Practical knowledge about low and high water times, the locations of shoals, winds, weather and landing places had long been passed down from generation to generation. 'In light of the dangerous shoals in the approaches to Jersey, it is possible that the Câtillon II hoard was shipped on a hide-boat vessel resembling the gold model of a boat from Broighter in Northern Ireland. This first century BC seacraft was equipped with a sail, steering oar pivoted near the stern and, crucially, nine oars on each side, which would have been invaluable to overcome unfavourable wind and steer clear of reefs. Ships built with hide or leather waterproof coverings fastened to a framework of light timbers sound flimsy but could be strongly constructed, light and flexible, ideal to ride the crests of high waves in the unpredictable Atlantic seas or for landing in almost any cove.' He added: 'Another new take is that we believe the landscape was sacred to the Celts, with ancestral power going back millennia, linked to a Neolithic megalithic tomb perched on the hilltop above the hoard discovery site. 'There's something incredibly special about these fields. The spiritual power of the ancestors is likely to have been a big reason why the hoard was brought to Jersey.' The Wreckwatch issue is accompanied by a video.
