UKDIVING
Piece of eight :
One of thousands of silver coins discovered at the Rooswijk main wrecksite off the Kent coast
PHOTO : DUNCAN ROSS
Commercial diver with coin at Rooswijk main wrecksite
PHOTO : MIKE PITTS
English , Dutch , Belgian and Welsh commercial and recreational divers preparing to investigate the Rooswijk 1740 Gun Site
PHOTO : NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY
Rooswijk , Kent , southeast England
Sitting at 20m , the wreck of the Dutch East India Company ship Rooswijk is the deepest site in this list . Four separate locations within an area of 200-metres in diameter , are assumed to be related to the Rooswijk ’ s demise in early January 1740 . Before she finally came to grief in a violent storm on the treacherous Goodwin Sands , the ship ’ s crew battled to keep her afloat , jettisoning cannons and cargo .
The Rooswijk grounded several times before her eventual plunge , the stricken vessel leaving a trail of disaster and an extremely complicated archaeological site in her wake . During a 2017 expedition , myself and a few other lucky volunteers were tasked with investigating the Gun Site and Barrel Site . In black waters , where the English Channel meets the North Sea , our dive torches shone the first light for 250 years on enormous iron cannons and anchors , a stack of copper pots , and various other unidentifiable concreted anomalies .
The Rooswijk can be viewed as the archetypical ‘ treasure ship ’; at the time of sinking her contents and cargo were worth an estimated $ 100 million in today ’ s money . Over the years , an astonishing hoard of silver bullion and coins has been recovered by licensed salvagers and archaeologists . Through excavation , painstaking conservation and research of artefacts and archival documents , the intriguing stories of those on board the Rooswijk are now being told , revealing treasures of another kind . The Rooswijk is a designated Protected Wreck Site , so recreational diving is illegal . It is possible , however , that further licenced projects will occur in the future , so keep your eyes on historicengland . org . uk for developments . eyes peeled .
Rooswijk anchor and diver
PHOTO : MIKE PITTS
Diver with a piece of ceramic at Rooswijk main wrecksite
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