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A A 400-year-old merchant ship loaded with bronze cannons and cowries, which served as money for the slave trade of Africa, was discovered on the seabed off the coast of Portugal.
Archaeologists believe that the ship was returning from India on the spice route when it was destroyed off the city of Cascais, west of the capital, Lisbon.
Divers found Chinese ceramics, cowrie shells, bronze guns engraved with Portuguese coat of arms and even spice remains such as pepper in and around the wreckage.
The discovery of the ship, which would have sunk between 1575 and 1625, is of great importance, said Jorge Freire, scientific director of the archaeological project.
"From a heritage point of view, it's the discovery of the decade," he told Reuters. "In Portugal, it's the most important discovery of all time."
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