Madagascar Treasure May Be Notorious Pirate Captain Kidd’s Loot

Divers recovered a roughly 50 kg (110 pounds) slab of silver off the coast of Madagascar that some suspect may have belonged to the 17th century Scottish pirate Captain William Kidd.

U.S. explorer Barry Clifford led the team that found the bar around the wreck of what is believed to be Kidd’s ship, the Adventure Galley, which Clifford first discovered over a decade ago, the BBC reports.

The bar was ceremoniously presented to Madagascar’s President Hery Rajaonarimampianina, during a ceremony on Thursday attended by British and American diplomats. The office of the president described the handover on Twitter as “symbolic.”

Kidd, whose image as one of the most notorious pirates has been challenged in recent years, was hanged for piracy in London in 1701.

See images of the slab here: