Code cracked for shipwreck padlock solving 400-year-old mystery
Summary
Museum experts and Cardiff University researchers used micro-CT scans to open a brass padlock found near a 1583 shipwreck off the Welsh coast. The four-letter code is ANCE, and researchers say the lock may have secured coins or a chest containing items that did not survive.Key Facts
- Metal detectorist Peter Hughes found the lock near Margam, in Port Talbot, in 1999.
- The lock is part of a hoard linked to the Ann Francis, a ship caught in a storm on 28 December 1583 while returning from Spain.
- Researchers used micro-CT scanning to view the lock’s internal mechanism and identify the code.
- The code spells ANCE.
- The lock has four rings, each with six letters, creating 1,296 possible combinations.
- Hughes gave the artefact collection to Amgueddfa Cymru in 2017.
- The collection, including the lock, went on display at Swansea Waterfront Museum in July 2026.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
