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Austin American Statesman Archaeologists searched in Panamanian waters for sunken pirate ship. 
Thick coral reefs and violent currents make the Chagres River a dangerous place to dive, Hanselmann said. "It looks like Sarajevo down there. The waves were kicked up. Visibility is a mess," he said. But the team found eight cannons, ranging from 2 to 6 feet in length, and an anchor under the waves. After publishing its survey, the team returned in September 2010 with an excavation permit from the Panamanian government and brought up six of the guns. Two others could not be located, but Hanselmann thinks they're still down there. What makes the researchers believe the wreckage was Morgan's? A naval vessel would have been outfitted with regulation guns, Hanselmann said. And the cannons his team found are of various sizes. Also, he said, the cannons appear to be French-made. Morgan's ship, the Satisfaction, was a stolen French vessel, Hanselmann said. The guns are mobile, like those Morgan was known to prefer for firing at cities, he said. Also, guns from a more recent ship - that is, from the mid-1700s - would probably have serial numbers. The guns found near Panama do not, and Hanselmann said that indicates they were probably used during Morgan's time. Finding and salvaging the cannons won't be the end of the archaeological effort. Being underwater for more than 300 years damaged the iron severely. They had to be transported in water to keep them from falling apart, Hanselmann said. The cannons will be transferred soon to the Patronato Panamá Viejo , a Panama-based nonprofit conservation group that is seeking to have Panamá Viejo recognized as a World Heritage Site. Hanselmann said it could take the group several years to reverse the centuries of saltwater intrusion and chemical changes endured by the cannons. "For the Patronato Panamá Viejo it is very important to be the final depository of the six recovered cannons from the mouth of the Chagres," officials said in a statement. "The inclusion of these cannons in our exhibits is of great importance and will greatly enrich our hall on piracy." The team's discovery made more than just waves in the scientific community. The makers of the Captain Morgan brand of rum (branded long after the real captain died) last week offered each adult member of the expedition team a barrel of the drink and will rename a section of the Captain Morgan distillery in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands in their honor. At Texas State, Hanselmann is mainly focused on research but is trying to put together some courses on underwater archaeology and diving for scientific research. He sees his field as romantic and adventurous. "You never think you're going to get paid to study pirates," Hanselmann said. "I guess some of us never grow up."
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