Did Captain Kidd's treasure sink off Madagascar?

Sainte Marie island, Madagascar. Photo: AFP

A team of American explorers claimed to have discovered silver treasure from the infamous 17th-century Scottish pirate William Kidd in a shipwreck off the coast of Madagascar.

Marine archaeologist Barry Clifford told reporters he had found a 50kg silver bar in the wreck of Kidd's ship, Adventure Gallery, close to the small island of Sainte Marie. But Unesco immediately criticised Clifford's methods and said he may have damaged a precious archeological site in his hunt for treasure.