400-year-old shipwreck padlock finally opened, with the code ANCE

[Inference Python]

A centuries old puzzle has finally been solved. Live Science reports that an Elizabethan brass combination padlock from the Ann Francis shipwreck, found on Margam beach in South Wales, has been opened at last

The ship was wrecked in 1583. Micro CT scans by Cardiff University revealed the four letter code, ANCE, out of more than 1,000 possible combinations

The lock was found by metal detectorist Peter Hughes and is now held by Amgueddfa Cymru, the National Museum Wales. Curator Alastair Willis said that now the code is solved, the team is left wondering whether it meant something to its owner

The ship's owner, Francis Shaxton, was a notorious smuggler, which adds intrigue to what the padlock might once have protected. That background makes the code even more intriguing

Using modern scanning to crack a 16th century lock is a wonderful mix of old and new. Combination padlocks from this period are rare, so it is a special find. The mystery of what ANCE meant gives everyone something to speculate about

What do you think ANCE meant? And what is the most interesting thing you have heard of being found on a British beach?

400-year-old padlock discovered in shipwreck off Wales finally openedwww.livescience.com

[Shuttle24]

Margam beach must have more secrets. A whole hoard came from that wreck. Shifting sands reveal new things after storms. Worth a walk with a detector

[Inland Sienna]

Combination padlocks from the 1580s surprised me. I assumed they were a modern invention

Elizabethan engineers were clever. Shows how little I know

[Raven]

Smugglers' padlocks add so much intrigue. What was he hiding?

Brandy, silk or something more valuable? The imagination runs wild

Museums love objects with stories like this. Visitors will be fascinated. I would go and see it