Uploaded July 2023 | Updated September 2026, 43 minutes ago
The Rooswijk was a Dutch East India Company trading ship that sunk in January 1740 on the Goodwin Sands off the Kent coast.
The ship sank after hitting a fierce storm, with the loss of all 237 members of the crew. Their personal belongings and the ship's cargo lay dormant on the Goodwin Sands until the wreck was discovered in 2005.
The Rooswijk was discovered by amateur diver Ken Welling in 2005 after the Goodwin Sands shifted, revealing the wreck below.
Two seasons of intense excavations took place between 2017 and 2018 to bring these artefacts from 25 meters to the surface for analysis and conservation. This work was a collaboration between Historic England, the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands and MSDS Marine.
The Rooswijk was built in 1737 and set sail on its first successful voyage to Batavia (modern-day Jakarta in Indonesia) in October 1737.
The Dutch East India Company, founded in 1602, profited from many avenues, including transporting goods such as spices worldwide. It also profited from the trade of enslaved people and through colonisation.
Chapters:
What was the Rooswijk?: 00:00
Suspicious-looking rocks: 01:19
Sabre blades: 02:50
Silver coins: 04:46
What happens next?: 06:02
Post excavation, conservators and material scientists have worked on the artefacts at our Fort Cumberland Research Facility in Portsmouth, Hampshire.
This work has helped to uncover the secrets behind the lost treasure of the Rooswijk.
📰 The Story of the Rooswijk Shipwreck ➡️ bit.ly/RooswijkStory
The Rooswijk was a Dutch East India Company trading ship that sunk in January 1740 on the Goodwin Sands off the Kent coast.
The ship sank after hitting a fierce storm, with the loss of all 237 members of the crew. Their personal belongings and the ship's cargo lay dormant on the Goodwin Sands until the wreck was discovered in 2005.
The Rooswijk was discovered by amateur diver Ken Welling in 2005 after the Goodwin Sands shifted, revealing the wreck below.
Two seasons of intense excavations took place between 2017 and 2018 to bring these artefacts from 25 meters to the surface for analysis and conservation. This work was a collaboration between Historic England, the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands and MSDS Marine.
The Rooswijk was built in 1737 and set sail on its first successful voyage to Batavia (modern-day Jakarta in Indonesia) in October 1737.
The Dutch East India Company, founded in 1602, profited from many avenues, including transporting goods such as spices worldwide. It also profited from the trade of enslaved people and through colonisation.
Chapters:
What was the Rooswijk?: 00:00
Suspicious-looking rocks: 01:19
Sabre blades: 02:50
Silver coins: 04:46
What happens next?: 06:02
Post excavation, conservators and material scientists have worked on the artefacts at our Fort Cumberland Research Facility in Portsmouth, Hampshire.
This work has helped to uncover the secrets behind the lost treasure of the Rooswijk.
📰 The Story of the Rooswijk Shipwreck ➡️ bit.ly/RooswijkStory
