The brass lock sat sealed for 443 years. No one forced it. No one broke it. On November 4, 2026, researchers at Cardiff University and Amgueddfa Cymru finally opened the artifact recovered from the 1583 wreck of the Ann Francis off Margam Beach, south Wales. The code: ANCE.
Dr David Williams, a research associate at Cardiff University's School of Engineering, led the scan. The team used micro-CT technology typically reserved for examining bone structures to visualize the internal notches of the lock. By mapping these internal components against the rotating letter rings, Williams identified the alignment required to release the mechanism. The process was non-invasive. The lock remains intact, its original mechanism preserved for the first time in history.
The object’s journey to the lab began with luck and persistence. Peter Hughes, a metal detectorist, spent 21 years between 1996 and 2017 recovering treasure from the sand at Margam Beach. Storms and dredging had gradually exposed the cargo of the Ann Francis, a vessel returning from Spain when a violent storm struck on December 28, 1583. Hughes found the lock near Spanish silver coins and two coin weights. Amgueddfa Cymru acquired the artifact, but the closed lock presented a puzzle no one could solve through physical manipulation.
Alastair Willis, senior curator for numismatics at Amgueddfa Cymru, noted the rarity of a well-preserved Elizabethan combination lock from a dated shipwreck. The team believes the lock likely secured a small chest containing valuable personal belongings or documents. Those contents, if they existed, did not survive the centuries underwater. The letters 'ANCE' offer no immediate clue as to the owner’s identity or the symbolic meaning behind the choice.
The Ann Francis collection now forms the centerpiece of the 'Tides of Treasure' exhibition at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea. The display includes rare gold coins from the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain and a boatswain’s whistle. The Welsh Government supported the acquisition of these artifacts for the national collection. While the code is cracked, the human story behind it remains elusive. The lock stands open, its secret solved, waiting for visitors to see how a simple brass mechanism outlasted a ship, a storm, and four centuries of silence.