For hundreds of years, an unidentified disc-shaped object recovered off the Florida coast was presumed to be a Seventeenth-century cauldron. Now, it seems that specialists could have lastly found its true nature. Might this artifact be a Seventeenth-century diving bell, ingeniously employed within the perilous quest to salvage treasure from a sunken Spanish galleon?

The mysterious copper object was initially found off the Florida coast in 1980 close to a wrecked Spanish treasure galleon and was believed to have been a cauldron for making fish stew at sea. However now, two researchers have instructed the copper dome represents the stays of a primitive Seventeenth-century diving bell that was utilized by treasure hunters.

If this object is not a cauldron, it may probably be a part of an early diving bell, making it one of many earliest recognized examples of a diving equipment ever discovered.

The mysterious copper object found off the coast of Florida. (Mel Fisher Maritime Museum)

Cauldron or Diving Bell? Reinterpreting Florida’s Unidentified Metallic Object

The copper dome was found by deep-sea divers in 1980 close to the Santa Margarita, a wrecked Spanish treasure galleon that sank in 1622 within the Florida Straits, about 65 km (40 miles) west of Key West. The article was recovered about 50 meters (160 ft) deep, and was initially assumed to be a big cooking cauldron.

• Darkish Mysteries of the Deep: Historic Divers and their Harmful Journeys
• Oath of Silence Protects Superb 500-Yr-Previous Diving Bell Used to Go to Sunken Roman Vessels

Now on show on the Mel Fisher Museum in Sebastian, Florida, two maritime archaeologists now counsel the thing was in actual fact the highest of a Seventeenth century diving bell, that was used to salvage treasure from the sunken ship.

Sean Kingsley, a maritime archaeologist and editor of Wreckwatch Magazine, informed Live Science that these primitive submersible had been most frequently deployed in shallow waters. He added that with the underside of the machine being open, it was full of air, providing divers a bubble of breathable air at depths.

Illustration of Halley’s diving bell, which was designed in 1690 by Edmond Halley. (Wellcome Photos / CC BY 4.0)

Historic Diving Bell Appears Nothing Like A Cauldron!

In the newest version of Wreckwatch Journal Sean Kingsley and maritime archaeologist Jim Sinclair, who was a member of the restoration workforce, defined why they consider the thing is “a primitive diving bell.” Kingsley mentioned a number of designs for diving bells had been produced within the Seventeenth century. One of the crucial well-known was the 1690 design by the English scientist Edmond Halley, the discoverer of Halley’s Comet.

In response to Sinclair and Kingsley, the thing measures 147 centimeters (58 inches) in diameter, and it seems to have been constructed from two copper sheets. With a heavy rim, studded with copper rivets all the way in which round, the researchers mentioned it was “a lot too massive for cooking” and that there “are not any indicators of charring or heating.” Sinclair informed Stay Science that whereas it has been referred to as “a copper cauldron” up to now, he’s seen fairly just a few ship cauldrons and none of them “look something like this.”

In addition to the mysterious cauldron-shaped diving bell found close to the Santa Margarita treasure galleon, divers discovered an engraved gold plate from the wreckage in 1980. (Don Kincade)

A Proto-Sort Pearl Diving Machine?

The Santa Margarita treasure galleon sank in 1622 throughout a hurricane within the Florida Strait, and all 142 of her crew had been misplaced. When the ship was explored in 1980, the divers discovered the metallic object beside iron ingots, which may have anchored the machine to the seafloor. The wreck of the Santa Margarita has since yielded tens of millions of {dollars} of treasures, together with gold bars, cash and a gold and rock-crystal spiritual reliquary.

• Graveyard of the Caribbean: What Shipwrecks Lie In Antigua’s Waters?
• Digging the Deep Blue: Challenges and Triumphs in Underwater Archaeology

Sinclair mentioned the dome-shaped object might be “the highest half from the diving bell described by the salvager, Francisco Nuñez Melián, in 1625.” This may clarify why the machine was surrounded by a number of watertight decrease panels manufactured from wooden and leather-based. It’s thought that the diving bell was based mostly on a 1606 design by the Spanish inventor Jerónimo de Ayanz, which was later used for pearl diving in Venezuela.

The researchers assume the diving bell might need held three divers, and that it might need been related to a floor help craft with an air hose. The “diving bell” speculation has gained additional help from the truth that when Melián initially explored the shipwreck within the Seventeenth century, his divers recovered “350 silver ingots, hundreds of gold cash, and eight cannons.” This sizable haul strongly suggests using a diving bell within the operation.

Prime picture: Mysterious copper “cauldron” is now believed to be a Seventeenth-century diving bell Supply: Melvin Fisher Abt

By Ashley Cowie