LIVERPOOL, UK — A team of Liverpool divers who claim to have found a wreck that could hold billions of pounds worth of gold have made new finds at the site. A section of "pintle chain" which linked to a sailing ship's rudder has been recovered during preliminary operations along with a cannon ball along with a sounding weight. Dive director Joe McCormack says the finds lend further support to the theory that the wreck is that of an 18th century vessel that sank on a mission to supply Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1746. The fact that French King Louis XV left Charles Edward Stuart - the Bonnie Prince - in hiding, without supplies after his defeat at the Battle of Culloden has long puzzled historians. Now the team of divers hope they can unlock the mystery by recovering the cargo of the wreck that could be a vast quantity of gold coins. Joe McCormack said: "We are confident that we have got the right target and that it will contain an obscene amount of gold coins. "But we want to share the benefits of this dive and to use the phenomenon the find will create to help boost tourism to Anglesey. We have got plans to display many of the finds in a secure display at Holyhead." Records show that Louis XV made one failed attempt to send relief ships, laden with a huge quantities of gold coins, weapons and troops, to The Young Pretender, in hiding in the Scottish Islands. Those two vessels were intercepted by the Royal Navy and limped back to France with their precious cargoes. There has been speculation among Jacobite experts that the French King made further attempts to re-kindle the Rebellion but what happened to any supply vessels has remained a mystery. But the diving team claim the wreck they have found could re-write an entire chapter of history if it surrenders a huge quantity French gold coins - showing it was a lost relief ship. They believe the vessel was a Frech privateer supply ship, laden with gold and weapons, which sank off the coast of North Wales, probably in 1746. Diver Kevin McCormack uncovered a tiny copper disc at the site of the wreck off the Anglesey coast and experts have verifield it is identical to the signet ring of Mary Queen of Scots. Historians say the copper disc would probably have been Mary's "working seal" and a major diving operation has begun to excavate the underwater site where it was found. Joe's son Kevin McCormack explained how he made the chance find among samples of concretion - solidified wreckage - lifted from an area of coast near Porth Dafarch Beach, on Holy Island, in the 1980s. Kevin said: "I brought up the concretion in what was a routine exercise. I knew it was a wreck but I had no idea what might be in the solid lumps. "I pounded the concretion into power to find-out what might be inside, hoping to find coins. I found the copper disk and thought it was just a worthless penny so I threw it in a drawer." Many years later Kevin's father, veteran diver Joe McCormack, was encouraged to have the disc examined by experts at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. Microscopic examination showed that the matrix is an identical duplicate of the seal on the signet ring worn by Mary Queen of Scots at her execution. That priceless ring is kept at The British Museum. A leading Scottish historian described the matrix as the "working seal" of Mary Queen of Scots which would have been attached to a wooden or horn handle for use in sealing letters and documents. Now a 20-strong dive team led by Kevin McCormack and his company Maritime Resurgence Ltd, have started exploring the site in a unique project that will see access gained via scaffolding erected down the rugged cliff face. Maritime Resurgence is working in partnership with Eathcore Ltd whose Managing Director, veteran diver Joe McCormack - Kevin's father - explained that Louis XV was the chief sponsor and financier of the Jacobite Rebellion. Joe, 65, said: "It's a historical fact that King Louis XV sent a number of ships laden with supplies to support Charlie while he was in hiding. | | Dive director Joe McCormick with the ring seal "Two of them were named "Le Mars" and "La Bellone" and they were laden with a huge quantity of gold and weapons. "These two vessels never reached Charlie. They were intercepted and damaged in an encounter with the English Navy, after which they limped back to France. "Stuart supporters have long believed that several other vessels were sent to relieve Charlie. "What became of them has been the subject of speculation, but the wreck we have round may hold the key to solving that mystery. "By 1746 Louise XV had lost his nerve and without his support Charlie was forced to abandon the rebellion and he was rescued by a French ship. "We believe that the wreck site we are working on is where another relief vessel sank without trace. "The name of the vessel is not known, but evidence suggests that it was probably a British-built sailing ship that had been captured, or bought, by a French privateer and provisioned to sneak up the coast unchallenged. "Its aim would have been to reach the Young Pretender who was in hiding, moving around the isles of Scotland after his defeat at Culloden. "Mary Queen of Scots was Bonnie Prince Charlie's great-great-grandmother and our theory is that the seal was a 'token of authenticity' carried by an emissary on the relief vessel to demonstrate his credentials on meeting the Prince. "It would have given the bearer an irrefutable badge of authority and proof to Charles that the ship's crew were genuine and not agents of the English Government. "The two ships 'Le Mars' and 'La Bellone', sent earlier, had made it back to the port of Nantes, laden with 852,000 lavres in Louis d'or coins. "This was a fantastic quantity of gold - many tonnes - which as bullion alone would be worth millions at today's values. "We believe all or part of the cargo was transferred to our wreck and part of the excitement of this project in solving the puzzle. Finding French Louis d'or coins will be more or less conclusive evidence. "I believe that we will find some fantastic examples of gold coins from the period. If we are right it could be the biggest find of its kind in UK waters. "All the artifacts we recover will be recorded for posterity and we have plans for numerous examples to be kept in Anglesey to form the centre of a museum exhibition. It will be absolutely fascinating and a major tourist attraction." The seal matrix itself has been valued at between £1000 and £1500 and authenticated by the National Museum of Scotland. The precise location of the site has been notified to HM Receiver of Wrecks and Earthcore Ltd has established rights as Salvor in Possession of the wreck through preparatory work and presence at the site. * Many of the divers involved in the operation are from Hughes Sub Surface Engineering Ltd of Bootle with its boss Ian Hughes overeseeing underwater operations. by Chris Johnson |
