Shiver me timbers! Hanged buccaneer’s booty found

Treasure hunters have discovered an ancient silver ingot in the shallow seas off Madagascar that they believe belonged to one of Britain’s best-known pirates, Captain William Kidd.

The ingot, engraved with Roman numerals and the initials MB, weighs 55 kilograms, according to a statement by the Malagasy president.

Kidd, who was born in Dundee in 1654, worked for the British Crown as a licensed privateer, capturing French-flagged vessels. However, he fell foul of the British after he looted the Quedagh Merchant, an Armenian boat with a British captain, in 1698.

The silver bar was discovered this week by a team of underwater explorers led by Barry Clifford, an American. Clifford is confident he has found Kidd’s wreck and loot.

Kidd was arrested by the Earl of Bellomont when he sailed back to America. He was tried in London and hanged over the River Thames at an execution dock in 1701.

The hangman’s rope snapped – which was sometimes seen as an act of God and cause to grant a pardon – but Kidd was strung up a second time. His body was then hung in chains at Tilbury docks as a warning to other pirates.

Timothy Smart, Britain’s ambassador to Madagascar, said the discovery was ‘‘an incredible part of the UK and Madagascar’s shared history’’ that he hoped would inspire ‘‘a new generation fascinated with the exploits of 17th and 18th century privateers’’.

‘‘There is still much science to be done,’’ Smart said. ‘‘But the latest finds cannot help but stir the imagination of children around the world.’’

Sam Brown, who was filming the expedition for the History Channel, said Clifford believed the silver came from Kidd’s ship Adventure Galley, scuttled off the coast of Madagascar.

Richard Zachs, author of The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd, said there was no doubt that the silver was ‘‘pirate booty’’ but linking it to Kidd would prove much harder.