The Associated Press reports that the shipwreck was found by the Tampa, Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration, which found $500 million in sunken treasure two years ago. Their research shows the HMS Victory was carrying 100,000 gold Portuguese coins when it sunk; so far, none of the treasure has been found, but if it's there, it could be worth far more than that 2007 jackpot that Odyssey divers found in the sunken Spanish galleon.
Right now, divers have only recovered two brass cannons from the wreck; however, it was those cannons that allowed them to definitively identify it as the HMS Victory, a 175-foot sailing ship that was returning to England from Lisbon, Portugal when it went down in a storm on October 4, 1744 with close to 1,000 men on board. The divers continue to examine the debris field, which lies about 330 feet below the surface and is about 70 feet by 200 feet. "This is a big one, just because of the history," Greg Stemm, co-founder of Odyssey Marine Exploration, told AP. "Very rarely do you solve an age-old mystery like this." His company is negotiating with the British government over collaborating on the project.
Stemm won't reveal the exact location of the warship for fear of attracting looters. He did say it wasn't even close to where it was thought to be. "We found this more than 50 miles from where anybody would have thought it went down," he told AP. "Assuming the wreck is indeed that of a British warship, her remains are sovereign immune," a spokesman from the Ministry of Defense told AP, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with government policy. "This means that no intrusive action may be taken without the express consent of the United Kingdom."
