Records showed that the bronze cannons and monument from the expedition were installed at Fort Caroline, an early French Huguenot colony on the St Johns River, in what is now Jacksonville, Florida. The cannons are now worth over a million dollars apiece, and marble monument may be worth many times that amount, as "the only one of its kind," he said. In addition to the three bronze cannons and the marble monument, the divers found 19 iron cannons, 12 anchors, a stone grinding wheel, and scattered ballast and ammunition from the ships, Pritchett said. The markings on one of the bronze cannons indicate that it was cast in the 1540s, during the reign of King Henry II of France, he added. The marble monument is probably the most significant piece of maritime history that has ever been found on the entire East Coast of the US, Pritchett said.

Source: dna August 22, 2016 08:37 UTC