by Anthea Gerrie
Aerial view of modern-day Portobelo, which Captain Henry Morgan attacked in 1668 -- a key victory in loosening the Spanish stronghold in Panama.
The belongings of a real-life Pirate of the Caribbean have been discovered off the coast of Panama and are set to go on show for travelers keen to see how 17th-century buccaneers lived.
The pirate was Captain Henry Morgan, of rum bottle fame, a Welshman who looted throughout the Spanish Main in the 17th century before losing five ships in the West Indies.
Fritz Hanselmann, an underwater archaeologist with the River Systems Institute and the Center for Archaeological Studies at Texas State University, found swords, barrels and chests belonging to one of Morgan's ships after a three-year search.
“Morgan was one of the most infamous privateers of all time, so this was a chance to use archaeological research to bridge the gap between science and pop culture,” Hanselmann says.
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