An historic cannon discovered off a South Shore beach has been laid to rest -- with the help of the British Army.

The massive gun, which is nine feet long and dates back to the 18th century, was found off Coral Beach in Paget.

Now a project to lift it from the depths and place it in an accessible spot has been successful.

After several unlucky attempts, the Royal Irish Regiment were finally able to move the two-and-a-half tonne cannon and place it on a plateau in shallow water.

It now means the cannon is accessible to snorkellers and will not be lost in shifting sands where it lay in 25 feet of water.

Clifford Smith, director of conservation and underwater archaeology at the Maritime Museum, paid tribute to the soldiers who were determined not to leave the Island without moving the cannon.

"It was extremely difficult because of the tide strength and the depth of the water,'' he said. "They were very adverse conditions but they overcame the obstacles.'' The cannon, which is believed to have fallen into the water from the West Elbow Beach Fort following a landslide, was lifted with air bags and is now marked by a buoy.

It took the 12-strong crew just two hours to carry out the operation -- and with the team due to fly home on Saturday, time was running out.

"We couldn't have gone home with the job half done,'' said Major Colin Marks, of the Royal Irish Regiment.

And for the Maritime Museum there was an added bonus during the soldiers' stay -- which was part of adventure training -- as they excavated an entrance to the Keep Ponds at the Museum.

In addition they were called on to help solve a mysterious finding in the water off the snorkel park at Dockyard.

Mr. Smith said an iron and wood structure, measuring 135 feet by 12 feet, was lying in shallow water but no one could identify exactly what it was.

The soldiers were asked to help and set about diving on the site.

Unfortunately time constraints meant they were unable to find a solution to the mystery.

"It really doesn't have what we consider diagnostics for a shipwreck,'' said Mr. Smith. "One of the divers said to me it was either a shipwreck or a train -- that is how ambigious it is.'' He added that further dives will take place to eventually determine what the hulk is.