 | When Belgian Robert Sténuit discovered pieces of eight in the murky, freezing seabed off Northern Ireland's north coast 50 years ago he knew he'd finally found it. The gold and artifacts were deposited at the resting place of one of the most important ships in the Spanish Armada - the Girona. |  |
 | The ship foundered and sank off Lacada Point, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, on the night of 26 October 1588. All but nine of the 1,300 people on board perished and a huge cache of Spanish treasure went to the bottom. In 1967 and 1968 a team of Belgian divers (including Robert Sténuit) brought up the greatest find of Spanish Armada treasure ever recovered from a wrecked ship. |  |
 | Of the 130 Spanish ships that set out in 1588 to invade England, over 20 of them were wrecked off the North and West coasts of Ireland. The Girona’s recovered gold is on display at the Ulster Museum in Belfast. |  |
