A replica of the "Whydah Gally" at the Whydah Pirate Museum in Yarmouth -

Steven Senne / AP / SIPA

The bodies of at least six pirates were extracted from the wreck of the

Whydah Gally

, the famous pirate ship Black Sam, which sank in 1717 off Cape Cod (United States).

The remains of the ship were discovered in 1984 by underwater explorer Barry Clifford.

The specialist and his team of archaeologists are currently analyzing what remains of the pirates, reports the

Boston Herald

.

The remains were surrounded by thick concrements which made it difficult to locate them.

Barry Clifford explained that he relies on modern technology to "identify these pirates and reunite them with their potential descendants".

Several human remains had previously been recovered from the wreckage, including bones belonging to a child and another from an adult.

Black Sam's skeleton?

The DNA taken during these first surveys had been compared to that of the descendants of Samuel Bellamy, the real name of Black Sam. The analysis had shown that the body was not that of the wealthy pirate captain.

“The recently discovered skeletal remains could lead us to Bellamy since we still have his DNA,” commented writer Casey Sherman, a member of the

Whydah Gally

exploration team

.

The ship used by slave traders had been attacked by Black Sam in February 1717. The pirate had seized the ship and its cargo of gold and silver whose weight was estimated at 4.5 tons.

He had made it his main building.

A third of his crew were former slaves to whom Black Sam had ceded part of the stolen treasure.

More than 100 people were on board the

Whydah Gally

when it sank in April 1717 during a storm.

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  • Shipwreck

  • Discovery

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  • Pirate

  • Science