Investigation of artefacts retrieved from a shipwreck of Vasco da Gama using X-ray Computed Tomography

In 1503, two ships part of Vasco da Gamas second armada to India were lost at sea. Archaeologists followed the historical trail that led them to the wreck site in Ghubbat ar Rahib Bay off Al Hallaniyah Island, Oman. The excavation found over 2800 artefacts including a ships bell and a concretion of silver coins. In this study the use of X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT) is outlined and how its exploitation guided conservators in restoring these artefacts, leading to revealing the date on the ships bell and discovery of an ultra-rare coin: the índio or “ghost coin” of Dom Manuel I