Hidden treasures: Spanish archaeologists discover trove of ancient shipwrecks in Bay of Gibraltar

Archaeologists examine the wreck of the Puente Mayorga II, a 17th-century Spanish vessel logged by the Herakles Project. Photograph: Alejandro Mañas

Spanish archaeologists exploring the bay that curves between the southern port of Algeciras and the Rock of Gibraltar have documented the wrecks of more than 30 ships that came to grief near the Pillars of Hercules between the fifth century BC and the second world war.

Over the millennia, the bay, which sits at the north end of the strait of Gibraltar that separates Europe from Africa, has swallowed everything from Phoenician and Roman vessels to British, Spanish, Venetian and Dutch ships – as well as the odd aeroplane.