Treasure ship 'found'

Vital clue... diver and rare rudder with copper cover

- By Michael Havis

A SHIP full of treasures that vanished after leaving Britain nearly 250 years ago may have been found at last, after divers unearthed a vital clue.

The merchantman Recovery sank in November 1787 with bronzes and marble artworks collected by Irish statesman the Earl of Charlemont on a nine-year “grand tour” of Europe.

En route from London to Dublin, it also carried “rich and rare curiosities of art and nature” owned by John La Touche, Ireland’s richest banker.

Now, after decades of searching, shipwreck hunter Edmond O’Byrne says divers have found a rare copper covered rudder like the Recovery’s.