Shipwreck of the lost Schiedam is found AGAIN: Divers rediscover the 17th century vessel in the same spot as the wreck from TV drama Poldark

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Divers have rediscovered a 17th century shipwreck off Cornwall, at exactly the same spot where the shipwreck scene was filmed in 2014 for the TV series Poldark.

First seen by a local diver in 1971 and designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973, the wreck of the Schiedam had been buried for many years under the shifting sands of Gunwalloe Church Cove.

The site is now managed by Historic England and dived by a keen local team.

Divers have rediscovered a 17th century shipwreck off the South of England after, more than 40 years after it was first found

The two divers who rediscovered the site this year were novelist and archaeologist David Gibbins and Mark Milburn of Atlantic Scuba in Penryn.

'We'd searched the cove many times for the Schiedam, but only seen sand,' said Gibbins.

'Then the breakthrough came one day after a storm. Snorkelling north over the cove, we saw not just one cannon but three. It was incredibly exciting.

'One of the guns was among the longest we'd ever seen on a wreck standing proud of the seabed on a rocky ledge with the muzzle poking out almost as if it were on a gun carriage.

'Exploring the reefs around the guns we saw other amazing artefacts – concreted musket barrels, cannon balls, lead musket and pistol shot, and even an iron hand-grenade, the wooden plug for the fuse still intact.

The shipwreck was first discovered in the 1970s, but was later reclaimed by the shifting sands of Gunwalloe Church Cove (pictured) and lost once more to the sea

Earlier this year, divers found the wreck off of Cornwall, at exactly the spot where the shipwreck scene was filmed in 2014 for the TV series Poldark (still pictured)

'We knew that most of what we were seeing was cargo carried from the English colony at Tangier making the wreck a fascinating window into a forgotten corner of history.'

Historic England has management responsibilities for the site but the involvement of divers ensures that the site is monitored.

The approach to the historic wreck sites championed by Historic England is that they are a shared resource for all to access and enjoy.

THE  SCHIEDAM

The Schiedam was originally a Dutch merchantman sailing from Holland.

It had been captured by pirates off Spain in 1683, sailing with a shipment of timber, with the crew enslaved.

But the ship was captured again soon afterwards by a Royal Navy ship commanded by captain Cloudesley Shovell, who brought it to Tangier.

At the time, Tangier had been acquired by the King Charles II as a dowry with his Portuguese wife, but had been abandoned by the English in the face of threat from the Moors.

When it sank in April 1684, the Schiedam was part of a fleet carrying ordnance, tools, horses and people back from Tangier, the port in present-day Morocco.

It was driven into the rocks off of Cornwall by a gale, with the cargo, sails and cables plundered by locals.

It lay undisturbed on the seafloor off the Cornish coast for centuries before being discovered by divers in 1971.

But the shifting sands of the cove reclaimed the wreck and it became lost again.

Since then, it has been designated a protected wreck and has been exposed again in 1998, until it was recovered by sands for years until earlier this year.

The two divers who rediscovered the site this year, David Gibbins and Mark Milburn, say they knew immediately they were looking at the remains of the 17th century cargo ship, which sailed from the former English port of Tangier (illustrated)

Historic England's Maritime Archaeologist Alison James said: 'We are delighted to work with divers like Mark and David to help ensure that England's protected wreck sites are enjoyed and protected for years to come.

'They are helping to ensure that the story of the site is not lost and is known to a wider audience.'

The Schiedam has one of the richest backstories of any wreck ever discovered in British waters.

At the time of her loss in April 1684 the ship was part of a fleet carrying cargo from Tangier, the port in present-day Morocco. 

The Schiedam herself was originally Dutch, a merchantman sailing from Holland but had been captured by Barbary pirates off Spain in 1683 and her crew enslaved.

Poldark's shipwreck scene involved castmembers re-enacting the old practice of burning fires and lighting torches to lure vessels toward land, only to make off with all the boat's valuables once an inevitable shipwreck had occurred (scene pictured)

Two divers, working on the wreck, say they have spotted cargo transported by the vessel from the Moroccan port of Tangier

The big gun that the divers saw on the wreck was a demi-culverin, one of a number recorded among the ordnance at Tangier but the only one from the colony known to survive. Pictured is demi-culverin cast around 1587

Soon afterwards she was captured again by a Royal Navy ship commanded by a daring young captain named Cloudesley Shovell – later as an admiral to be lost with his fleet in 1707 in the Scilly Isles through a navigational error, the trigger for the race to find a better way of establishing longitude – who brought his prize to Tangier.

As if that were not enough, none other than the diarist Samuel Pepys enters the picture, as he was an Admiralty official sent to Tangier to help oversee the evacuation.

Much of his correspondence relating to the wreck of the Schiedam still survives.

The big gun that the divers saw on the wreck was a demi-culverin, one of a number recorded among the ordnance at Tangier but the only one from the colony known to survive.

The hand-grenade is particularly fascinating as one of the earliest known examples to be found archaeologically, and because their use is well-documented at Tangier.

The remnants of the ship can be seen strewn about the seabed, including early hand grenades (pictured, with diver's knife below for reference)

The strong currents off the Cornish coast meant the wreck was claimed by the shifting sands at Gunwalloe Church Cove (pictured)

Invented in the 16th century, hand-grenades had only been a standard armament for English regiments for a few years by the time of the Tangier colony.

Nevertheless they were among the first list of equipment requested for the colony in 1662 and played a pivotal role in the defence against the Moors.

When one of the outlying forts was captured by the Moors after savage fighting in 1680 they seized a large store of hand grenades and other armaments, swinging the siege in the Moors' favour and helped to precipitate the English decision to abandon the colony a few years later.

The wreck dates a century before the setting of Poldark, but the similarities are striking.

Poldark's shipwreck scene involved castmembers re-enacting the old practice of burning fires and lighting torches to lure vessels toward land, only to make off with all the boat's valuables once an inevitable shipwreck had occurred. 

The series follows the life a British officer who returns to Cornwall after escaping as a POW following the Revolutionary War. 

'You would have seen local people lining the shore just as the film crew were that day in 2014 and flotsam coming ashore at exactly the same place,' Mr Gibbins said.

A letter written soon after the wrecking to Lord Dartmouth, Admiral of the Fleet, suggests that the locals availed themselves of what they could but were far from the murderous Cornish wreckers of legend: 'All the guns and mortar pieces may be saved, but palisades, muskets, rigging are mostly embezzled, though the justices and gentlemen of the country are extremely civil and save what they could; and the country very kind to the poor people.'

Investigations of the Schiedam are carried out under the aegis of Historic England which administers the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 and issues discretionary licenses for divers to visit protected wreck sites off England.

Further exploration of the Schiedam is planned for next year.