The dials still turned. That was one of the things that surprised metal detectorist Peter Hughes when he found a brass padlock on a beach in South Wales. The lock had spent centuries beneath the sand, and he could still move its rings by hand. Getting them to line up in the right order would take a little more work. Cardiff University
What the Storm Left Behind
In December 1583, the merchant ship Ann Francis was returning from Spain when a storm drove it onto Margam Beach. Centuries later, storms and dredging exposed traces of the wreck. Between 1996 and 2017, Hughes recovered much of the hoard. The finds included Spanish silver coins and gold coins from the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. Cardiff University · Museum Wales
There was also a boatswain’s whistle. It’s a small detail that makes the wreck easier to picture. The coins are what you’d hope to find on a treasure hunt. The whistle is something you can imagine hearing on deck. Museum Wales
The Four Letters That Opened It
Museum Wales and Cardiff University announced the breakthrough on November 4. Researchers used a micro-CT scanner to build a 3D view of the mechanism without taking the lock apart. By matching the internal notches to letters on the rings, they came up with a combination for the museum team to try. The lock opened on ANCE. Cardiff University · Live Science
The lock turned up near Spanish silver coins and two coin weights. It may once have secured a chest, but what was inside remains a mystery. So does what those four letters meant to the person who set them. Cardiff University
You can see the lock, gold coins, and whistle together in Tides of Treasure at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea. If you could put just one of those finds under a magnifying glass, which would you pick? Museum Wales
