Sun King's cannon raised from Mediterranean shipwreck
A remarkably well-preserved cannon from a 17th-century French warship has been recovered from the seabed off the coast of Toulon.
A remarkably preserved bronze cannon from the wreck of La Lune, a French warship that sank off Toulon in 1664, has been brought to the surface by marine archaeologists.
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The three-metre-long cannon, decorated with fleurs-de-lis, royal crests and the monogram of King Louis XIV, was recovered from a depth of 88 metres during a week-long excavation.
Experts described it as an "exceptional" artefact, saying its inscriptions offer a unique insight into France's naval history under the Sun King.
The cannon will now undergo around two years of conservation work before eventually going on public display, with Toulon's National Navy Museum expected to be its future home.