1721 PIRATE TREASURE DISCOVERED

In the waters off Madagascar's northeast coast, archaeologists say they have uncovered the final resting place of a ship plundered in one of history's most dramatic pirate raids. The wreck, they believe, is that of the Nossa Senhora do Cabo—a Portuguese vessel overtaken in 1721 by the infamous pirate Olivier The Buzzard Levasseur.

More than three centuries after its capture, the remnants of the ship lie beneath the waves near Nosy Boraha, an island once known as Île Sainte-Marie, a notorious pirate haven during the Golden Age of Piracy.

The discovery is the result of 16 years of painstaking research by American archaeologists Brandon Clifford and Mark Agostini from the Center for Historic Shipwreck Preservation. Their findings, recently published in Wreckwatch magazine, have not yet been peer-reviewed. Still, they present a compelling case based on sonar scans, historical records, and over 3,300 recovered artifacts.

The pirates swarmed the vessel and took control. The ship's haul was an eye watering treasure, even by pirate standards, Clifford and Agostini wrote. They estimate the loot, by today's standards, would exceed $138 million. Historical records list gold and silver bars, coins, silks, and more than 400 gemstones, including 110 diamonds and 250 emeralds.

The remains of the Nossa Senhora do Cabo were discovered in a quiet harbor near Nosy Boraha, about 650 kilometers (400 miles) west of the ambush site. Clifford and Agostini used sonar and remote sensing to map the seafloor, identifying a distinctive ballast pile matching the ship's profile. Nearby, they found clusters of artifacts strewn across the site.

Among them: finely carved religious figurines and devotional items made of wood and ivory. One statuette depicts the Virgin Mary. Another piece—a small plaque—bears the letters INRI, short for Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. These, the researchers believe, were crafted in Goa and meant for Lisbon's cathedrals.

Also recovered were Arabic-inscribed gold coins, delicate porcelain shards, and fragments of luxury pottery. Many of these pieces remain buried beneath layers of sand and silt. Ideally, future fieldwork will lead to more analysis of the many wrecks there, Agostini told Live Science.

To read the complete article, see:
Lost Pirate Treasure Worth Over $138M Uncovered Off Madagascar Coast (https://www.zmescience.com/science/archaeology/lost-pirate-treasure-worth-over-138m-uncovered-off-madagascar-coast/)

For more information, see:
A Legendary Ship Vanished With $138 Million in Treasure. Two Explorers Say They Found It. (https://www.yahoo.com/news/legendary-ship-vanished-138-million-120000222.html?guccounter=1)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
THE ISLAND WITH $100 MILLION HIDDEN (https://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n18a32.html)

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