It came from beyond geek

Over 3,000 years ago, during Europe's Bronze Age, a wooden ship full of French-made weapons and jewelry was sailing off the coast of Devon, England. It

was probably at least a dozen metres [nearly 40 feet] long, more than two metres [almost 7 feet] wide and built of oak planks sewn together with yew withies, made watertight with moss and beeswax.

It ran into trouble. Perhaps it struck a reef that lies 600 meters to the west. Perhaps it capsized. Perhaps it broke up. Whatever the reason, it went to the bottom.

And there it lay, slowly rotting in the sea water, for 33 centuries until it was found recently by a group of amateur marine archaeologists in what has been called

the most important prehistoric find of its kind for 30 years.

The discovery, half a mile out to sea near Salcombe, sheds new light on Britain's overseas trade 3,350 years ago. ...

Although the boat itself has long since rotted, the French imports survived extremely well. They include a solid gold neck ring, a gold bracelet, three bronze rapiers, three spear heads, three axe heads, several dagger blades, an arrow head and part of a bronze cauldron.

The discovery is part of a growing body of evidence that international trade in bronze, gold, and other valuables was well-established well before that time, with

a number of major trading centres along the south coast of Britain. The latest discovery suggests that Salcombe's impressive natural harbour was much more important in prehistoric times than previously thought.

The group, the South West Maritime Archaeological Group. found the site while investigating another wreck site in the area, that one dating from the 17th century.