A vital piece of a 300-year-old mystery surrounding a pirate's treasure in the Indian Ocean may have been discovered.

Archaeologists believe that they have identified the wreck of the Nossa Senhora do Cabo (Our Lady of the Cape), a Portuguese warship that was captured off the island of Reunion in 1721.

The ship had been en route to Lisbon, fully laden with treasures from Goa and the Portuguese colonies on the west coast of India. On the way, the warship, weighing more than 700 tons, was badly damaged in a storm. To avoid capsizing, the crew jettisoned some of the ship's cannons, making the ship easy prey for the French pirate Olivier Levasseur, known as La Buse (The Buzzard).

Huge quantities of gold, silver, pearls, diamonds and other valuables such as fine textiles and spices are said to have been on board. According to Smithsonian Magazine, the trove........

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