World's richest treasure wreck found off Cornish coast » Environment » 24dash.com

The world's richest treasure wreck is believed to have been found off the Cornish coast.

It is the latest - and the richest - of a long line of treasure wrecks which lie around the UK, including warships from the Spanish Armada defeated in 1588 in the Channel.

More than 17 tons of gold and silver coins worth about £250 million have been brought up from the wreck - which is believed to lie in waters about 40 miles off Land's End.

Using undersea robot technology, the find was made by the US deep-ocean shipwreck exploration Florida-based firm Odyssey Marine Exploration.

Odyssey said it was not yet prepared to disclose the possible identity of the shipwreck, and may only do so after thoroughly examining the artefacts.

But it has emerged that last month a US judge signed an order granting Odyssey exclusive salvage rights to a site 40 miles off the south west tip of the UK where it was believed the remains of a merchant vessel had been found.

Odyssey said it had carried out preliminary exploration of the Colonial-period shipwreck site they have code-named Black Swan. All recovered items recovered from the wreck were taken to the United Sates where they will undergo conservation and documentation.

"It is believed that this recovery constitutes the largest collection of coins ever excavated from a historical shipwreck site," said Odyssey.

"Our research suggests that there were a number of Colonial period shipwrecks that were lost in the area where this site is located, so we are being very cautious about speculating as to the possible identity of the shipwreck," said John Morris, Odyssey co-founder and chief executive officer.

"Nevertheless, we have treated this site with kid gloves and the archaeological work done by our team out there is unsurpassed. We are thoroughly documenting and recording the site, which we believe will have immense historical significance."

Copyright Press Association 2007.

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