In 1994 archaeologists discovered a sunken 17th century ship with more than 400 gold coins. They have finally solved their great mystery

The surprise came in the mid 90s. A group of British divers explored the waters of the salcombe bayin Devon, when they came across the remains of a 17th century boat. At first glance, the wreck was very degraded by the passage of time, but it hid a real treasure: hundreds of coins of gold, jewelry and ceramics, among other pieces, most preserved today in the British Museum. Once the initial surprise was overcome, a mystery remained: What was the name of the boat? Where did it start from and where was it going?

We already have the answer.

What has happened? That archaeologists have finally solved a mystery that had gone unanswered for three decades: the identity of the merchant ship located in 1994 facing Salcombe Bay, England. We knew it hid valuable treasures, including 400 gold coinsbut until now no one had been able to clarify what the ship was called, its voyage and why its remains have spent centuries rotting in the English Channel. There, resting on the seabed, was the culmination of a story; the beginning was missing.

Do we already have an answer? Yes. In a publication launched by the British Museum, a group of researchers has finally revealed the identity of the ship: it is the Dom van Keulena Dutch merchant ship that set sail from Morocco around the fall of 1633. Its destination was the Netherlands, but the trip became complicated when it was sailing with its valuable cargo off the southern coast of England. The weather was not favorable, the ship suffered a fatal leak and ended up capsizing.

How did they find out? Diving. Although in this case the researchers have not immersed themselves in the cold waters of the Atlantic. The exploration has been carried out by historian Ian Frield among files from the British National Archives. There he located a series of documents that tell us about the voyage of the Dom van Keulen at the beginning of the 17th century, the storms it had to face and its unfortunate end, which ended with the ship at the bottom of the sea.

The story of the merchant, however, was not as tragic as it could have been. We know that his crew managed to survive the shipwreck, and experts like Dave Parham, a professor at Boston University and one of the book’s editors, believe that “most of the load” He ended up recovering around the same time.

“Most of it”? Exact. If Parham and his colleagues are correct, the treasures that the ship carried inside were recovered long ago; but neither the shipowners of the Dom van Keulen nor the generations that followed them were able to remove all the traveling items stacked in the holds.

There they stayed for centuries, among the mud and oblivion, until in 1994 SWMAG divers located what remained of the wreck. The rest is the history of marine archeology: when exploring the site, the divers found a part of the cargo. Most are preserved in the British Museum.

Did you transport that much? Yes. Parham is pretty clear in this regard: “Among their cargo were 150 bags of gum arabic, 64 bags of saltpeter, 320 goat skins and 9,000 Barbary ducats, Moroccan gold coins.”

Its considerable value explains why the majority of this cargo ended up being extracted from the merchant ship’s holds, but for one reason or another more than 400 coins remained hidden until the SWMAG divers arrived in the 1990s.

Did you find anything else? Those hundreds and hundreds of gold coins from Africa probably represent the largest treasure extracted from the shipwreck, but they are not the only thing that archaeologists have found. During your research They have also recovered a bowl, a pewter spoon, gold jewelry, a fish-shaped weight, a seal, ceramics and a piece of cast gold like a finger.

Regarding the Dutch merchant ship, although no portraits of the period are preserved (or at least known), Parham explains that the wreck measures 30 meters long, includes cannons and anchors and rests about 18 meters deep.

Why is it important? There are several reasons. The main one is that we finally know the identity of the merchant. Not only do we know that he was Dutch and transported valuable cargo. Now we know his name, career and complete history. As remember the SWMAGIn the area, remains of wood, rope, lead, dishes and other pieces were also found that tell us about life aboard the Dutch ships that covered that route at the beginning of the 17th century.

If that were not enough, the wreck tells us about the traffic between North Africa and Europe and the trade in precious metals. “It provides an important context for the richness and architecture of the sharif Saadian trade, the African gold trade, and tangible evidence of the flourishing 17th-century maritime trade connecting Morocco, the Netherlands, and Britain,” Dave comments..

What was your relationship like? Intense. Bournemouth University (BU) remember that between the 16th and 17th centuries the Dutch traded actively, exchanging manufactures for pure gold from West Africa. In fact, some of the Berber ducats that were imported ended up being melted down to make Dutch gold coins with their metal, which was widely accepted at the time.

The Dom van Keulen has given maritime archaeologists something else: the opportunity to examine 16th and 17th century Moroccan jewelry in a dateable contexta historical clue that is not often found.

Images | Bournemouth University

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