Scientists Unlock 400-Year-old Shipwreck Padlock Mystery

WHO:

Phys.org - Experts from Amgueddfa Cymru and Cardiff University worked on the lock.

NY Post - Scientists investigated the padlock.

BBC - The article quotes an unidentified speaker describing the lock’s likely purpose and significance to someone who knew its code.

WHAT:

Phys.org - CT scans revealed a four-letter code on the lock.

NY Post - Scientists cracked the code on a 400-year-old padlock from a shipwreck.

BBC - The speaker said, “It's a small object so it probably would have been a lock for a chest or a small box”; the contents are unknown.

BBC - The speaker said the lock would have “meant something to the person who knew that code” and noted that “there are some things we'll never know.”

WHERE:

NY Post - The shipwreck was off Wales.

WHEN:

NY Post - The padlock is described as 400 years old.

HOW:

Phys.org - Experts used cutting-edge CT scanning technology to examine the lock.

NY Post - Scientists used CT scans to crack the padlock’s code.

(UPDATED November 4, 2026 17:07 UTC)

Scientists cracked a 400-year-old shipwreck padlock’s four-letter code using CT scans. The lock was recovered from a shipwreck off Wales and likely secured a small box. Experts say its code mattered to someone, though the box’s contents remain unknown.

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(UPDATED November 4, 2026 16:02 UTC)

Scientists used CT scans to crack the code on a 400-year-old padlock from a shipwreck off Wales. The small lock likely secured a chest or box, though scientists do not know what it held. Its code would have meant something to the person who knew it.