The underwater archaeologists who found the treasure suspect that it belonged to Scottish pirate William Kid

May 8, 2015 07:07 GMT  ·  By

This past Thursday, a team of underwater archaeologists announced the discovery of a centuries-old treasure off the coast of the island of Sainte-Marie in Madagascar. 

Even cooler, rumor has it that the treasure belonged to none other than notorious Scottish pirate William Kid, whose flourishing career as a ruthless plunderer got him executed in 1701.

The bulk of the treasure is still underwater

Explorer Barry Clifford and his team have so far recovered only a silver bar tipping the scale at about 50 kilograms (roughly 110 pounds). If we're going to be honest here, we have to admit that one silver bar does not a treasure make.

Still, the underwater archaeologists say that, having scanned the ocean floor with metal detectors, they found evidence that the bulk of the treasure is buried in the sand off the coast of the island of Sainte-Marie, Mirror informs.

They plan to return to the area sometime in the near future and hope to eventually recover the 17th-century loot in its entirety. What they'll do with the treasure once they get their hands on it remains a mystery.

The explorers offered the silver bar that they found earlier this week to Madagascar's President, so maybe whatever other riches are lying on the ocean floor in this corner of the world will too be entrusted to authorities.

It is believed that the wreckage harboring the loot is that of a ship dubbed the Adventure Galley. Historians say that this vessel was abandoned by pirate William Kidd and sunk sometime in 1698.

Who was this William Kidd anyway?

In his younger years, pirate William Kidd, a.k.a. Captain Kidd, was appointed by British authorities to track down and fight pirates. Shortly after landing this respectful job, he had a change of heart and became a pirate himself.

He turned seriously violent and even killed one of his fellow plunderers. In 1701, he was captured and executed. Apparently, it took three attempts to kill him. Thus, on the first two attempts to hang him, the rope around his neck snapped. It wasn't until the third try that the rope held.

Photo shows the silver bar found by Barry Clifford and fellow explorers
Photo shows the silver bar found by Barry Clifford and fellow explorers

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Explorers claim to have found a 17th-century pirate treasure
Photo shows the silver bar found by Barry Clifford and fellow explorers
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