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A British-led team has braved shark-infested Bahamian waters to discover six 300-year-old pirate shipwrecks linked to legendary heists and Blackbeard
- A team of researchers has discovered the final resting places of the world’s very first pirate shipwrecks. The six sunken vessels were found resting at the bottom of the ocean in the Bahamas after more than 300 years.
- Three of the doomed ships have been directly tied to the famous “golden age of piracy” between the 1690s and 1720s. The waters were once terrorised by legendary, bloodthirsty sea scoundrels like Blackbeard and Calico Jack Rackham.
- Experts believe they have found the charred remains of the Fancy, a massive 46-gun ship used by the notorious “Pirate King” Henry Avery. Avery famously pulled off the greatest heist in maritime history by plundering a staggering £85 million fortune in gold and diamonds.
- The groundbreaking expedition was spearheaded by British marine archaeologist Dr Sean Kingsley and Bahamian expert Dr Michael Pateman. The team discovered the scorched ship timbers scattered across the seabed near Nassau, a well-known historical pirate sanctuary.
- Diving down to the wrecks was incredibly dangerous because the Bahamian waters are teeming with aggressive packs of sharks. The crew even spotted the deadly predators circling their boat before they put on their gear, forcing them to brave the threat to get to the history below.
- One of the 18th-century wreck sites was actively guarded by a menacing bull shark while the team worked. Despite the danger, the divers pushed forward and were stunned to find hull planks, glass bottles and cooking bricks beautifully preserved.
- The ocean floor was found bristling with heavy weaponry and personal items left behind by the real-life pirates. Divers uncovered an iron cannon, 25 lead musket balls, dozens of clay tobacco pipes and a sharpening stone used to keep cutlasses deadly sharp.
- Experts revealed that the pirates heavily armed their vessels with “swivel guns” to tear through enemy crews. While the contents of the shipping crates have rotted away over the centuries, researchers are confident that the incredible discoveries are just the beginning.
- Read the full article here: https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/brit-diver-finds-ships-mayhem-37250340
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