A MAP dowser claims to have discovered the last resting place of a king's treasure trove described as ''Britain's Tutankhamun'' in the Firth of Forth, writes Raymond Duncan.

Former boxer Jim Longton, who has unearthed valuable archaeological artefacts for the nation and whose work has been recommended by the Duke of Edinburgh, believes the ill-fated baggage ferry of King Charles I is lying on the seabed off Burntisland in Fife.

Mr Longton, who has already been paid #45,000 by the Treasury for finding Viking silver now in the British Museum, maintains he knows the exact spot where the ferry went down in 1633, carrying a priceless cargo including the 280-piece silver dinner service commissioned by King Henry VIII and amassed by Charles.

Mr Longton's apparent powers are being taken seriously and have been backed up by a survey by a Royal Navy ship.

Now, the team which began the treasure hunt six years ago along with local enthusiasts is launching a charitable trust to raise funds to find, or at least protect, the haul ''for the people of Scotland''.

Fife businessmen Alex Kilgour, who headed the original search, and Mr Ian Archibald, a computer mapping consultant, keen amateur diver and driving force behind the Burntisland Heritage project, contacted Mr Longton on the recommendation of Mr Noel Fojut, Historic Scotland's principal inspector of ancient monuments and Scotland's representative on the Receiver of Wrecks Committee.

He suggested they speak to the Lancashire-based dowser who three years ago wrote to the duke saying he had found two Spanish galleons off Oronsay. The duke passed the letter to the MoD.

The team discovered that King Charles' vessel had previously been called Beatitude and details of her journey and cargo were passed to Mr Longton who, in October, came to Scotland with a sealed envelope bearing a map with a location marked on it which he believed was the ship's position.

He then navigated a boat more than one-and-a-half miles from Burntisland Harbour, using just his hands and a dowsing rod, to a 100ft deep spot just yards from his predicted location.

The following month, Mr Kilgour was contacted by HMS Roebuck, the Royal Navy hydrographic survey ship offering help, and its sonar system identified an ''unusual'' shape and the ''classic signs'' of a shipwreck.