Controversial treasure hunters reveal they've discovered one of the 'great maritime horrors' - as they release chilling details of pirate shipwreck

After astir 20 years of secrecy, a group of wealth hunters are yet getting candid astir a centuries-old pirate shipwreck they discovered 2,700 feet down successful nan Mediterranean.

Florida-based company Odyssey Marine Exploration opportunity they recovered a astir 45-feet-long alloy backmost successful 2005 that was erstwhile parented by Barbary corsairs, Muslim pirates and privateers who operated disconnected nan seashore North Africa and often attacked European ships.

A elaborate study hasn't yet been done connected nan ship's woody hull, which could uncover erstwhile it was constructed and really agelong it was successful service. 

However, pottery and glassware recovered connected committee propose it whitethorn person sunk astir 1760, according to Sean Kingsley, editor-in-chief of Wreckwatch magazine, an outlet that examines shipwrecks.

'Most of nan pottery has nonstop parallels successful nan 18th-century ceramics excavated during rescue activity successful Martyrs' Square successful Algiers,' Kingsley told Newsweek. 'The Ottoman bowls connected nan wreck stopped being made successful Turkey astir 1755. The tightest making love comes from nan solid bottles that were blown, astatine latest, 1740-1760. So nan vessel can't postdate 1760.' 

The wreck recovered successful world waters betwixt Morocco and Spain was linked to Algiers, nan present-day superior metropolis of Algeria. 

But respective hundreds of years ago, nan metropolis was known arsenic nan hub for Barbary Coast piracy.

'The threat of Algiers' corsairs was an mundane panic for nan West,' said Greg Stemm, head of Seascape Artifact Exhibits Inc. and erstwhile president of Odyssey.

'The shipwreck recovered successful heavy waters is simply a precious echo of 1 of nan occidental Mediterranean's awesome maritime horrors,' Stemm added.

From nan 1500s each nan measurement until 1830 erstwhile nan French invaded, Algiers was a tributary authorities to nan Ottoman Empire. It besides attracted Muslim refugees from Spain and Christian converts to Islam who dreamed of getting rich | done piracy.

'Less celebrated than nan pirates of nan Caribbean, nan corsair superior of Algiers turned to piracy acold earlier and was a overmuch bigger business,' Kingsley said. 'From 1525 to 1830, an full metropolis of 60,000 'rogues and renegades' lived by nan sword.'

He added that barbary pirates raided arsenic acold arsenic confederate England.

'Not only did they return your wealth, they enslaved anyone caught to ransom backmost for a dense fee. It was an atrocity of mundane life that Western traders had to bet with,' Kingsley said.

This circumstantial shipwreck was recovered by Odyssey accidentally. Their main nonsubjective was unearthing a British Royal Navy ship, nan 80-gun HMS Sussex, which was mislaid successful a large wind successful 1694.

Odyssey has had its adjacent stock of contention successful nan past for taking valuable wealth from shipwrecks it's discovered successful nan past.

It recovered nan 1804 wreck of nan Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, a Spanish warship, successful 2007.

Odyssey initially raked successful a $600 cardinal haul, pulling 17 tons of golden and metallic coins from nan vessel, but aft a prolonged tribunal battle, nan Spanish authorities was fixed nan correct to retake nan treasure.

The coins are now connected show successful nan National Museum of Subaquatic Archaeology successful Cartagena.

Odyssey's 250-foot-long investigation served arsenic nan guidelines to study nan corsair shipwreck originating from Algiers, and nan squad utilized a remotely operated conveyance equipped pinch archaeology devices to comb done nan debris.

Kingsley explained that this find is important because it marks nan first wreck that has artifacts - pottery, glassware and dense weaponry - that tin beryllium straight tied to Algiers.

'The wrecked corsair vessel was very heavy equipped pinch muskets, 4 ample cannon and 10 swivel guns. When nan skipper ran into trouble, these antipersonnel weapons could beryllium quickly installed for attacking crews successful nan rigging and connected decks,' Kingsley said. 

Only a 3rd of nan hull has survived supra nan seabed, chiefly because of harm caused by Mediterranean 'shipworms' (a type of saltwater clam).

The tract has not been afloat excavated yet, but Odyssey believes nan full magnitude of nan vessel each nan measurement down to nan keel is intact beneath nan sand.

It is thought that nan pirate vessel was walking to Spain connected a ngo to ambush ships and return slaves for ransom astatine nan clip of its sinking.

'The mini vessel almost surely succumbed to a large wind that came retired of nowhere,' Kingsley said.

'The bold and brave corsair was punching supra its weight successful unforgiving seas.'