Conny Waters - AncientPages.com - A centuries-old shipwreck discovered off the south coast of England, containing 400 gold coins, has been identified as the Dutch trading ship “Dom van Keulen,” which departed Morocco for the Netherlands in autumn 1633.
Credit: British Museum
A new publication identifies the wreck that a team from the British Museum, Bournemouth University (BU), and the South West Maritime Archaeology Group has spent nearly 30 years investigating.
The book, ‘From Morocco to the Coast of England: The Story of the Dom van Keulen and its Remarkable Cargo,’ reveals that the Dutch ship encountered severe weather.
Independent historian Ian Friel, who assisted in identifying the ship, uncovered documents in the National Archive detailing its voyage from Morocco to the Netherlands, during which the crew “met with much tempestuous weather.” The ship developed a leak and sank near Salcombe, Devon, off the south coast of England. All crew members survived.
Dave Parham, Professor of Maritime Archaeology at BU, edited the book with Venetia Porter, former Senior Curator for Islamic and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art at the British Museum. Porter collaborated with the South West Maritime Archaeology Group to research the cargo and the ship after its discovery in 1995.
Dave Parham said: “Among its cargo were 150 bags of gum arabic, 64 bags of saltpetre, 320 goat skins and 9,000 Barbary ducats, gold Moroccan coins. It is thought that most of the cargo was salvaged at the time, but more than 400 coins remained on the seabed until they were discovered by the South West Maritime Archaeology Group in 1995.”
“This provides important context for the wealth and architecture of the Sa‘dian Sharifs, the trade in African gold, and tangible evidence of the flourishing 17th-century maritime trade linking Morocco, the Low Countries and Britain,” Parham continued.
Credit: British Museum
The 400 coins, along with other artifacts from the wreck now displayed at the British Museum, originated from the Barbary Coast, known today as Morocco. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Dutch merchants exchanged manufactured goods for pure West African gold. The Dutch, with their extensive maritime industry and global trading empire, often melted imported ducats to mint Dutch gold coins, which became one of the world’s most widely accepted trade currencies.
Little is known about the appearance or size of the Dom van Keulen, and no paintings of the ship are known to exist. According to Professor Parham, the wreck site measures approximately 30 meters in length and lies at a depth of about 18 meters. The site contains cannons, anchors, and various smaller cargo items.
Additional artifacts recovered from the wreck and now held by the British Museum include a pewter bowl and spoon, gold jewelry, a fish-shaped sounding weight, a stamp seal, pottery, and a gold finger nugget.
Credit: British Museum
“The discovery of African gold from under the sea off the coast of Devon was an amazing discovery that raised so many questions about how it came to be there. Answering those questions has taken a team of experts, working collaboratively.
The story can now be told of how a Dutch ship carrying North African gold was wrecked off the English coast, making this a discovery of international importance. It reminds us how much there is still to be found under our seas,” head of Research at the British Museum, Jeremy D Hill, said.
The book presents a detailed account of the shipwreck's discovery and recovery, as well as a cultural history of the Sa’dian Sharifs, the Arab Sharifian dynasty that ruled Morocco during the period of the crew’s trade.
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The wreck site is protected under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 and managed by Historic England. Diving is limited to licensed individuals approved by the Secretary of State at DCMS. The National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) Prawle Point station monitors the site, while the Devon & Cornwall Police marine unit conducts regular patrols as part of Operation Birdie, a national effort to prevent illegal interference with historic wrecks.
An Open Access version of the book can be found online with physical copies available for purchase from the British Museum online shop.
The book is also available at Amazon.com
Written by Conny Waters - AncientPages.com Staff Writer
