‘Nelson’s treasure trove discovered’
Explorers claim to discovered a “treasure trove of artefacts”, including a sword, belonging to English vice-admiral Horatio Nelson on the wreck of a British warship 500 feet below the surface of the Mediterranean Sea.
Lord Nelson, Britain’s most celebrated naval hero, is best known for his victory in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, during which he was shot and killed.
A team of British explorers believes it has found Lord Nelson’s sword, amongst a haul of other artefacts, on wreck of HMS Victoria which sank in 1893, nearly 90 years after the admiral’s death, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
The vessel with 358 sailors on board sank after a blunder by vice-admiral George Tryon led to it colliding with another British warship as they were preparing to anchor during peace-time manoeuvres off the coast of Lebanon.
The vice-admiral was a great admirer of Nelson, who had died 88 years earlier, and was rumoured to have had on board with him a collection of his hero’s personal effects, which he was reported to have bought at auction.
The UK’s ministry of defence (MoD), which has legal ownership of the wreck, has contacted the explorers to ask about the whereabouts of any of Lord Nelson’s belongings.
Mark Ellyatt, a British diver who is part of the team which has been exploring the wreck since 2004, said: “The MoD wanted to know the whereabouts of anything to do with Nelson. They didn’t want it appearing on auction websites. They were very interested in the sword but seemed to get cold feet when I offered to bring it up for them. I don’t want people to go and strip the ship bare.”
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