At the bottom of the English Channel, a merchant ship that disappeared nearly four centuries ago has been identified thanks to its treasure of gold coins. Behind this wreck lies the little-known history of trade routes connecting North Africa to Europe in the 17th century.
This wreck, spotted off the English coast, is that of the *Dom van Keulen*, a Dutch ship that left Morocco for the Netherlands in the autumn of 1633. After thirty years of research, archaeologists and historians have been able to retrace its journey. The ship was part of the flourishing gold trade between West Africa and the Dutch commercial empire.
Gold coins and jewelry recovered from the site.
Credit: British Museum
The ship's cargo reveals the scale of these exchanges. According to the archives, the *Dom van Keulen* was carrying 150 bags of gum arabic, 64 bags of saltpeter, 320 goatskins, and 9,000 Barbary ducats, Moroccan gold coins. Most of the goods were recovered at the time, and the exact location of the wreck was forgotten.
Among the newly recovered objects, a treasure of 400 gold coins enabled its formal identification. The gold coins came from the Barbary Coast, present-day Morocco. As for the other items, they are now on display at the British Museum: a tin bowl and spoon, gold jewelry, a fish-shaped sounding weight, a seal, pottery, and a gold nugget.
A team effort of nearly thirty years made this identification possible. Historian Ian Friel discovered documents at the British National Archives describing the ship's final voyage. It had encountered "very stormy weather," taken on water, and sunk near Salcombe. Remarkably, the entire crew survived. The research is detailed in a book titled
From Morocco to the Coast of England: The Story of the Dom van Keulen and its Remarkable Cargo.
Examples of Moroccan gold coins recovered.
Credit: British Museum
Since its discovery, the wreck has been protected by the 1973 Protection of Wrecks Act. Only licensed divers may approach it. Regular patrols are carried out to prevent looting.