In 1995, divers exploring the seafloor off the coast of Devon in England stumbled upon something extraordinary: more than 400 gold coins scattered across the sand at a depth of around 18 metres. Alongside the coins lay jewellery, a nugget of pure gold, cannons, anchors and a fish-shaped sounding weight, all clear signs of a shipwreck. But for nearly 30 years, the identity of the vessel itself remained a mystery. Historians and archaeologists could not say for certain which ship had gone down there, where it had been sailing from, or why it was carrying such a valuable cargo. That question has now finally been answered through a combination of archival research and careful analysis of the objects recovered from the seabed.
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