Wreck-Hunters Uncover A ‘Great Maritime Horror’ in the Mediterranean

Wreck-hunters have struck gold, or rather, a pirate ship, deep in the Mediterranean waters between Spain and Morocco! The remains of a 17th-century Barbary corsair have been uncovered, and it’s making waves in the maritime archaeology world. The heavily armed pirate vessel was likely en route to the Spanish coast for a nefarious mission of capturing and enslaving, but loaded with pots and pans from Algiers to disguise itself as a humble trading vessel.

First Algiers Corsair in the Barbay Heartland

This discovery marks “the first Algiers corsair found in the Barbary heartland”, according to Sean Kingsley, editor-in-chief of Wreckwatch magazine and researcher on the project.

Their adventure began in 2005 when Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration (OME) stumbled upon the wreck during their quest for the HMS Sussex, an 80-gun English warship lost in 1694. This expedition turned out to be a treasure trove, also uncovering ancient Roman and Phoenician shipwrecks in the vicinity, reports Live Science.

“As so often happens in searching for a specific shipwreck we found a lot of sites never seen before,” Greg Stemm, the founder of OME and the expedition leader, told Live Science over email. Stemm is also the director of Seascape Artifact Exhibits Inc.

Now, this corsair wreck lies on the seafloor in the Strait of Gibraltar, at a depth of about 2,700 feet (830 meters). The ship, measuring about 45 feet (14 meters) long, was identified as a tartane. This small vessel, equipped with triangular lateen sails on two masts and capable of being rowed, was a favorite among Barbary pirates for its deceptive appearance as a fishing boat.

Laureys a Castro – A Sea Fight with Barbary Corsairs. (Public Domain)

“I’ve seen tartanes described as ‘low-level pirate ships,’ which I like. The wreck neatly fits the profile of a Barbary corsair in location and character. The seas around the Straits of Gibraltar were the pirates’ favorite hunting grounds, where a third of all corsair prizes were taken”, provided Kingsley.

The scientific operations were conducted from the 250-foot-long Odyssey Explorer research ship, utilizing the remotely operated vehicle Zeus, a sophisticated robot equipped with archaeological tools. This revealed an arsenal of four large cannons, 10 swivel guns, and numerous muskets for its 20-strong pirate crew.

Among the treasures found was a rare “spyglass,” an early type of telescope likely captured from a European ship, adding a touch of swashbuckling charm to the find. Other artifacts onboard further confirmed this was a pirate ship brimming with stolen goods.

“Throw into the sunken mix a collection of glass liquor bottles made in Belgium or Germany, and tea bowls made in Ottoman Turkey, and the wreck looks highly suspicious. This was no normal North African coastal trader,” provided Stemm.

Barbary Corsairs: Medieval Terrorizers of Maritime Waters

The Barbary corsairs, predominantly Muslim pirates, terrorized the seas from the 15th century, operating out of Algiers under the Ottoman Empire.

The Barbary Coast, spanning from modern-day Morocco to Libya, was infamous for these pirates who ruled the waves for over 200 years. They preyed on ships and conducted slave raids along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, capturing people to be ransomed or sold into the North African slave trade.

“The threat of Algiers’ corsairs was an everyday terror for the West. The shipwreck found in deep waters is a precious echo of one of the western Mediterranean’s great maritime horrors,” Stemm was quoted by Newsweek.

In fact, the corsair capital of Algiers turned to piracy much earlier than the more famous pirates of the Caribbean, and it was a significantly larger operation. He noted that from 1525 to 1830, an entire city of 60,000 “rogues and renegades” lived by the sword.

Kingsley further elaborated that while Blackbeard and his gang instilled fear in single ships, the Barbary pirates terrorized entire nations. He compared them to Vikings, mentioning that they raided as far as southern England. Not only did they seize wealth, but they also enslaved anyone they captured to ransom back for a hefty fee. This, he described, was a brutal reality that Western traders had to constantly contend with.

The reign of the Barbary corsairs came to an end in the early 19th century after their defeat in the Barbary Wars by a coalition of the United States, Sweden, and the Norman Kingdom of Sicily.

Top image: In situ artifacts from Algiers shipwreck, on top of wooden hull elements in the stern of the Barbary Corsair wreck.                      Source: © Seascape Artifact Exhibits Inc.

By Sahir Pandey