Specialists from Cardiff University and Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales have managed to open a brass lock from a chest discovered aboard a merchant ship that sank in 1583. The publication “uza.uz” reported this, citing the university’s official website.

The lock’s code consists of four letters: ANCE. Scientist David Williams created a three-dimensional model of the lock’s internal mechanism and worked out how to open it by matching the symbols on its circular components with the corresponding holes.

The chest was found among the wreckage of the merchant ship “Ann Francis”, which sank on the evening of December 28, 1583, while sailing towards Spain. It was initially believed that the lock had secured a small chest used to store valuables. This assumption was based on the discovery of silver Spanish coins and small stones used for weighing near the artefact.

The historic find is on display at the “Tides of Treasure” exhibition at Swansea’s National Museum. The exhibition will run until September 2027.