The identity of a centuries-old shipwreck discovered off the south coast of England, holding 400 gold coins has finally been identified as the Dutch trading ship “Dom van Keulen” which left Morocco for the Netherlands in the autumn of 1633.
A new publication identifies the mysterious wreck that, for almost 30 years, a team of divers and researchers from the British Museum, Bournemouth University (BU) and the South West Maritime Archaeology Group have worked to identify. The book, called ‘From Morocco to the Coast of England: The Story of the Dom van Keulen and its Remarkable Cargo’ reveals that the Dutch ship came across some adverse weather.
Independent Historian, Ian Friel who helped identify the ship has uncovered documents in the National Archive relating to its voyage from Morocco to the Netherlands during which the crew “met with much tempestuous weather”. The ship sprang a leak and sank close to the coastal town of Salcombe, Devon off the south coast of England. All the crew survived.
Dave Parham, Professor of Maritime Archaeology at BU, who edited the book alongside Venetia Porter, former Senior Curator for Islamic and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art at the British Museum who worked with the South West Maritime Archaeology Group to find out more about the cargo and its ship after it was discovered 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.”
Dave continued: “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.”
The 400 coins which along with other material from the wreck are on display at the British Museum originated from the Barbary Coast, recognised today as Morocco. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Dutch merchants actively traded by exchanging manufactured goods for highly valued, pure West African gold. At this time the Dutch had a large maritime industry and had a global trading empire. Many of the foreign imported ducats were melted down to produce their own Dutch gold coins which became one of the world’s most widely accepted trade currencies.
Very little is known about the appearance or size of the Dom van Keulen and no known paintings of the ship exist. Professor Parham says that the wreck site is about 30 metres long. It lies at a depth of around 18 metres and includes cannons and anchors amongst other small items of cargo.
Other items brought up from the wreckage and now in the ownership of the British Museum include a pewter bowl and spoon, gold jewellery, a sounding weight in the shape of a fish, a stamp seal, pottery and a gold finger nugget.Head of Research at the British Museum, Jeremy D Hill, said:
“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.”
The book offers a detailed account of the find and the recovery process of the shipwreck. It also provides a cultural history of the Sa’dian Sharifs, an Arab Sharifian dynasty that ruled Morocco at the time the ship's crew would have been trading with them.
The wreck site is designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 and is closely managed by Historic England. Diving on the site is restricted to those that hold a licence granted by the Secretary of State at DCMS. The wreck is monitored by the National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) Prawle Point station, which overlooks the site. Devon & Cornwall Police’s marine unit also undertake regular patrols in the vicinity as part of Operation Birdie, a national initiative to tackle illegal interference with historic wreck sites.
An Open Access version of the book can be found online with physical copies available for purchase from the British Museum online shop.
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