Discover the richest pirate skeleton in history

DNA testing will help determine whether the femoral bone actually belongs to Samuel 'Black Sam' Bellamy, the richest in history.

Samuel 'Black Sam' Bellamy died with a 140-person crew on a shipwreck Whydah during a violent storm off Cape Cod in 1717. The Whydah wreck was discovered in 1984. Later explorers found artefacts on ships. It was not until last year that researchers noticed a skeleton protruding from a pile of sand and other debris attached to the wreck, likely to belong to Bellamy, according to Science Alert.

The messy block is taken from the wreck of Whydah.(Photo: Science Alert).

This week, the Museum of Pirates of Whydah archaeologists separated samples of femur from mixed blocks weighing 1,630kg. New Haven University team will try to take DNA samples from the bone. They hoped to find the trait of DNA matching from the living descendant of a sister to Bellamy.

The team is seriously taken by the bone that is close to Bellamy's supposed handgun, along with other bones, coins, glassware and tools. The ability of the pirate femur is famous very high. Researchers are not sure if the bone contains enough DNA to conduct the analysis, but they still hope.

"Under water, a favorable condition by the air will not be able to penetrate. Oxygen is an important factor that damages DNA," said Claire Glynn, a research team member.

When Bellamy was only 28 years old when he was engulfed with the crew. But the short-term pirate career that lasted just over a year brought Bellamy with great success, including command of 53 ships and an estimated 5 tons of gold, ivory and other treasures. Bellamy was named the richest pirate in history with a net worth of about $ 120 million.

Timothy Palmbach, a criminal scientist, will monitor DNA testing to share if the femur bone really belongs to Bellamy, the remains will be transferred to his birthplace England to conduct the final burial."If it's Bellay, it's time to bring Bellamy home , " Palmbach said.