Captain Kidd's Ship Located Off Dominican Island

The Indiana University team then examined the wreck at the request of the Caribbean country's government.

The find will likely reveal key information about piracy in the Caribbean and about the elusive Captain Kidd, according to John Foster, California's state underwater archaeologist, who will participate in the research.

"I look forward to a meticulous study of the ship, its age, its armament, its construction," Foster said. "Because there is extensive written documentation, this is an opportunity we rarely have to test historic information against the archaeological record."

Historian Richard Zacks, who wrote a book about the seafaring privateer called "The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd," said the Scotsman had captured the 500-ton Moorish ship in the Indian Ocean but left it in the Caribbean in 1699 as he traveled to New York to try and clear his name of criminal charges.

Kidd failed to convince authorities of his innocence and was hanged in 1701 in London, Zacks said. His body was suspended in a gibbet, a kind of cage, on the Thames River as a warning to other privateers.

Related Links:

Rossella Lorenzi's blog: Archaeorama

Indiana University's Underwater Science Program

Wikipedia: Captain Kidd