Scientists Unlock 1583 Ann Francis Shipwreck Brass Padlock

Scientists Unlock 1583 Ann Francis Shipwreck Brass Padlock

November 14, 2026 Emma Walker – News Editor News

An intricate brass padlock from the 1583 shipwreck of the Ann Francis opened for the first time in over four centuries in early November 2026 after engineers and museum curators discovered its four-letter combination: ANCE, focusjunior.it reported.

The merchant vessel Ann Francis was returning from Spain to England when a severe storm pushed the ship off course on December 28, 1583. The ship wrecked against the beach at Margam, near Port Talbot in South Wales.

While most of the cargo stayed buried for centuries, metal detectorist Peter Hughes recovered hundreds of items between 1996 and 2017 as dredging and rough seas shifted the sand. His finds included Spanish silver coins, gold coins from the era of Ferdinand and Isabella, cannonballs, and a boatswain’s whistle. The brass padlock turned up in 1999 alongside silver coins and coin weights, likely used to secure a small chest.

Trysorau'r Tonnau – Clo yr Ann Francis — Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales

Hughes spent two decades turning the padlock’s rings without success. Each of the four rings featured six letters, creating 1,296 possible combinations. Turning them by hand posed a risk to the mechanism due to accumulated sand inside.

After the National Museum of Wales acquired the collection, curators sought help from Cardiff University biomechanics expert David Williams, who used a micro-CT scan to generate 3D images of the interior without damaging the artifact. The scan matched the notches on the rings to the internal bar acting as the key, revealing the sequence A-N-C-E after three scans.

Curators tested the combination at the museum, where the mechanism loosened immediately and allowed restorers to clear away encrusted sand. The meaning of ANCE remains unknown, and fixed letters on the edges of the lock have no clear link to the code.

A similar padlock at the British Museum in London, recovered from York, opens with the word MARCI. Visitors can view the unlocked padlock alongside other artifacts from the Ann Francis at the free “Tides of Treasure” exhibition at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea, Wales.

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