The Remains Of A 17th-Century Barbary Pirate Ship Were Uncovered In The Strait Of Gibraltar

The pirate ship was carrying pots and pans from Algiers, a stash of weapons, and a rare spyglass when it sank between Spain and Morocco.

Public DomainBarbary pirates terrorized the Mediterranean and eastern coasts of Europe from medieval times until the 19th century.

Nearly 20 years ago, a team from the Florida-based company Odyssey Marine Exploration (OME) was searching for the wreckage of an English Navy vessel that sank in the Strait of Gibraltar in 1694 when they instead stumbled upon the remnants of a 17th-century Barbary pirate ship.

The Barbary pirates of North Africa wreaked havoc in the Mediterranean for centuries, raiding coastal towns to abduct people and sell them into slavery. This ship is believed to be the first of its kind ever discovered in the “Barbary heartland” and still holds a trove of artifacts that shed light on the history of these fearsome pirates.

Wreck Hunters Find A 17th-Century Pirate Ship In The Mediterranean

The team from OME came across the wreckage of the pirate ship in 2005 while searching for the HMS Sussex, an English Royal Navy ship lost in 1694. For nearly 20 years, they kept the discovery under wraps — but now they’re revealing all the details about their stunning find.

Seascape Artifact Exhibits Inc.Pots, pans, and other artifacts discovered in the wreckage of the Barbary pirate ship.

“As so often happens in searching for a specific shipwreck we found a lot of sites never seen before,” Greg Stemm, the founder of OME and leader of the expedition, told Live Science.

The OME team has uncovered more than 300 shipwrecks over the years, but this one was special: It’s believed to be the first Barbary pirate ship ever found in the region. Sean Kingsley, a maritime archaeologist and the editor-in-chief of Wreckwatch magazine, told Live Science that the vessel is “the first Algiers corsair found in the Barbary heartland.”

The ship was located about 2,700 feet beneath the water’s surface. It was likely a 45-foot-long tartane, a small boat with two masts that could also be powered by oars. Tartanes were popular with Barbary pirates, as they were often mistaken for fishing vessels, allowing the buccaneers to more easily travel without interception.

The ship’s cargo also provided clues about who once sailed it. Researchers deployed a remotely operated vehicle into the wreckage to uncover weapons, glass bottles, a rare spyglass, and a cargo of pots and pans from Algiers.

Seascape Artifact Exhibits Inc.A collection of iron swivel guns discovered within the wreckage.

“Two defining characteristics of pirate ships are heavy weapons and cosmopolitan cultural contents — assembled from the many prizes taken,” Kingsley told Newsweek. “The wrecked corsair ship was very heavily armed with muskets, four large cannon, and 10 swivel guns… The fact that the collection includes unusual glass liquor bottles made in Belgium or Germany, tea bowls from Ottoman Turkey, and a European spyglass [means] the wreck looks unlike any known regular Mediterranean trader.”

“The wreck neatly fits the profile of a Barbary corsair in location and character,” Kingsley said. “The seas around the Strait of Gibraltar were the pirates’ favorite hunting grounds, where a third of all corsair prizes were taken.”

So, who exactly were the pirates who once terrorized the Mediterranean in this ship?

Who Were The Barbary Pirates?

The Barbary pirates were predominantly Muslim pirates from North Africa who terrorized the eastern and Mediterranean coasts of Europe. In addition to capturing merchant ships, they often raided coastal European towns and abducted people to sell at slave markets back in Africa. They first emerged during the Middle Ages, but they were most active between the 16th and 18th centuries.

Public DomainA painting of Barbary pirates attacking a French ship.

“Less famous than the pirates of the Caribbean, the corsair capital of Algiers turned to piracy far earlier and was a much bigger business,” Kingsley told Newsweek. “From 1525 to 1830, an entire city of 60,000 ‘rogues and renegadoes’ lived by the sword.”

The Barbary pirates became so problematic that a military coalition between the United States, Sweden, and the Kingdom of Sicily worked together to expel them for good in the early 19th century.

As expected of a Barbary pirate ship, the recently announced discovery contained several items that were looted from the area. Researchers described finding a “revolutionary” spyglass aboard the sunken vessel that likely came from a European ship.

Additionally, researchers discovered that the bulk of the pottery on board was from Algiers, supporting the notion that the vessel originated from the Barbary Coast. The pirates likely carried the pots and pans with them to pose as a merchant ship.

Researchers are unsure of the vessel’s age or how long it was in service, but they were able to determine that it likely sank during a storm in the 17th or 18th century. “The small ship almost certainly succumbed to a storm that came out of nowhere. The bold and brave corsair was punching above its weight in unforgiving seas,” said Kingsley.

After reading about the 17th-century pirate shipwreck discovered in the Strait of Gibraltar, learn about the 15 creepiest ghost ships ever seen on the high seas. Then, read the true story of Samuel Bellamy, the richest pirate in history.