The merchant ship, called the President and owned by the East India Company, sank in 1684 with a cargo of precious diamonds and pearls worth $10.7 million (8 million pounds) today. Divers from Historic England David Gibbins and Mark Milburn explained that until recently weather conditions hadn’t permitted them to get in the water, as the “entry and exit are treacherous even with the smallest waves.”
“The site was first reported by divers twenty years ago and was designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973. Mark and I are licensed by Historic England to monitor the wreck, but for many years it has been covered by sand,” Daily Mail cited them as saying.
Gibbins went on to explain that they had unearthed never-before-seen cannons and an anchor during the dive.
“During our dive we were thrilled to discover seven cannons and an anchor at the site, only a few meters from shore in less than seven meters depth. We were exploring an area where artifacts had never previously been recorded… It’s very unusual to know that guns on a merchantman were actually used, especially in such a colorful action and on the very voyage on which the ship was wrecked,” he elaborated.
The crew of the ship had survived a pirate attack off the Malabar Coast of India and near starvation, but all expect for two members died during a storm that sank the ship off Cornwall.