THE SECRETS OF THE DEEP

that treasures and relics of long-dead crew brought to the surface after

more than three centuries on and under the sea-bed should have remained

hidden for a further 15 years

AMONG the timbers of a wrecked ship a human leg bone lies across the

carved wooden face of a cherub revealed by shifting tides. A rib bone

mingles with other artefacts fathoms-deep in the sea . . . a sailor's

shoe, a riveted brass kettle, silver coins from a hoard of more than

400, and much, much more. They are the poignant relics of seamen and

soldiers dead for almost 350 years, lost in a storm off the Island of

Mull in 1653.

The colour photographs, taken under water with state-of-the-art

technology, are pin sharp. Huge cannons litter the sea-bed alongside

other weaponry. Simple tools, a flagon, a belt buckle, lie strewn in the

timbers of the lost ships.

Photographs taken by X-ray into solidified debris reveal the hilt,

pommel, and blade of an ornate sword. In another, the shape and workings

of a beautiful pocket watch yield their secrets to the camera. The

artefacts are, in marine archaeological terms, simply sensational.

They are part of one of the most significant finds ever discovered in

Scottish waters. And there is more to come. What is even more surprising

is that this most important archaeological find off Duart Point on Mull

has been kept secret for almost 15 years.

''It is the equivalent of finding a long-lost castle or an unknown and

undisturbed trove from an ancient abbey,'' says Dr Colin Martin, a

marine archaeologist from St Andrews University and the director of the

painstaking work which is now being carried out on the known three

wrecks.

But the most exciting fact is that the find is a real treasure, not a

tall tale, or a speculative possibility like so many recent highly

publicised expeditions. The evidence is there.

All through the centuries, tales of lost hoards of gold, diamonds,

jewels beyond price, have stirred the emotions. In more recent times

cinema and television moguls have discovered that a film about the

search for lost riches has always been a sell-out.

Dr Martin's own book, which he co-authored with a colleague, on the

Spanish Armada, published in 1988, listed and illustrated the gold and

jewel-encrusted treasures which the galleons left on the sea-bed around

Scotland and Ireland. It was Dr Martin who compared the solid gold

chains the Spanish grandees wore as the medieval equivalent of the

credit card. ''If they got wrecked they paid their way by taking off a

link,'' he said.

In more recent times, there can be no-one who is not fascinated by the

finding of the warship HMS Edinburgh, sunk during the last war while

carrying millions of pounds-worth of Russian gold ingots. When the

bright yellow bars were brought to the surface by the divers the world

was on tiptoe.

Documentaries on rich finds in the Caribbean, the fantastic 1982

raising of the Mary Rose, the warship which sank on its maiden voyage,

the vain or sometimes successful searches for the many Spanish galleons

wrecked around the Scottish and Irish coasts, have all enthralled

readers and viewers.

The most recent and highly publicised search for the Burntisland

ferryboat said to be carrying the treasure of Charles I in 1633, which

was lost in the Firth of Forth during his coronation tour of Scotland,

is a case in point.

The story intrigued millions and attracted international interest.

Even a Royal Navy ship, HMS Cottesmore, commanded by the Duke of York,

used the occasion as a ''training exercise'' to test its sonar equipment

in the search. That provoked an acid parliamentary question, since the

search appeared to be highly commercialised, employing an American

salvage expert, a marketing director, and a slick public relations

company.

Yet the highly profiled search produced nothing in real terms -- only

a speculative possibility. On the other hand, the finds off Duart Point

are an established fact. Now, after careful research, most of the story

of the wrecks is known. Dr Martin is now, if anything, more enthusiastic

than he was about his research into the Spanish Armada.

The story began early in 1653.

In England, Oliver Cromwell and his Roundhead troops had routed the

Cavalier armies of King Charles. In Scotland, he had won battles to

subdue the Scots at Dunbar in 1650 and a year later at Inverkeithing.

The new Commonwealth was in control. Except that the MacLeans of Duart,

with the Earl of Glencairn, did not care for Cromwellian rule and

revolted.

Cromwell sent a fleet of six warships under the command of Colonel

Ralph Cobbett which descended on the clan stronghold at Duart. But

prudently the Scots decamped to Tiree taking the clan chief, a boy of

eight, with them. And on September 16, when the English ships were lying

off Duart Point, a sudden storm blew up and three of the ships, The

Swan, The Martha And Margrett, and The Speedwell, all sank.

The troops on shore were fortifying Duart and were aiming to launch an

offensive on Dunstaffnage Castle across the Firth of Lorne when the

storm broke.

Dr Martin's researches have revealed that the English expeditionary

force had difficulty in getting out of their predicament but eventually

made it to Dumbarton, leaving the three wrecked ships on the sea-bed.

And there the story rested for almost 340 years.

Then in 1979 a lone naval diver, John Dadd, discovered the wrecks.

''He was actually looking for lobsters for his tea,'' said Dr Martin.

''And he found these cannons and other ancient relics on the sea-bed.''

John Dadd lifted some of the cannon and a few other mementoes. But he

had no idea of the history of the source of his finds.

For ten years he kept very quiet because he meant to return one day.

But he never did exploit his discovery. ''He grew to realise just how

important his find had been and wanted to have it properly

investigated,'' said Dr Martin.

So in 1991 he called in the archaeological diving unit which is under

contract to the Government to support the Historic Wrecks Association,

which in turn is part of the Maritime History Unit at St Andrews

University.

The diving team went out with John Dadd in 1991 to the site and,

astonishingly, the shifting seas had uncovered even more of the debris

of the wrecks. The find was so important that the university team

recommended the site should be designated a historic wreck.

It had to go to the Scottish Office and from then to the Historic

Scotland Department, and while the various legal processes to ensure

that no-one could dive on the wrecks without proper licence was being

processed, another diving team found the site by accident.

The team, from the Dumfries and Galloway Sub-aqua Club, sent its finds

-- carved wooden decorations -- to the National Museum in Edinburgh. And

academic interest took off.

The St Andrews University team returned to find even more, very

fragile, carvings. They were quickly rescued and are being carefully

preserved. Colin Martin, who had not dived for ten years, was persuaded

to go into rigorous training and take charge.

Major grants were awarded to the team to set up with boats, vehicles,

diving and survey equipment, and sophisticated underwater cameras. Now

there is a semi-permanent field station close to Duart Castle and the

academic consortium knows it will take years of arduous and meticulous

work to survey and preserve the wrecks.

At the moment, they are on weekend dives, and recent finds include

more carved wooden decorations, including the emblems of Scotland and

Wales. This summer, for the first time, an exhibition of some of the

artefacts and pictures of the finds is to be established at the castle,

the ancestral home of the Clan MacLean. But there are no plans to dive

in and plunder the wrecks over the next few years. The aim is

preservation.

In his tiny basement office in St Andrews, Dr Martin explained:

''First we have to survey and preserve. This find is bigger than all of

us. This is only the first of the three ships and we do not know what we

have still to find.

''But it is part of Scotland's heritage and history. So whatever is

going to be done will be done for the right reasons with the right

support and for the right results.''

For the people of Scotland the next few years are going to be even

more fascinating.