On June 18, 1845, a fireball appeared near Mount Lebanon at the same time as three mysterious glowing objects rose from the sea off Malta – a phenomenon some would today pass off as a UFO sighting.

But according to two researchers who are digging into weird historical sightings, the objects spotted 170 years ago from aboard a ship between Malta and Sicily could have been glowing gas released by a submarine volcano.

Martin Shough and Chris Aubeck have just penned a book called Return to Magonia using modern resources and tools to dissect more than 20 reported strange phenomenon from the last 500 years.

One of their chapters, called It Came from the Sea, deals with a story of glowing objects rising from the sea beside the brig Victoria, bound for Malta from Newcastle.

In 1845, the Malta Mail Times reported that on June 18, the top-gallant and royal masts of the brig Victoria suddenly went over the side as if carried away by a gust of wind.

It was 9.30pm. The wind blew for two hours from the east before it suddenly fell calm again and those aboard felt an overpowering heat and stench of sulphur.

At this moment three luminous bodies issued from the sea, about half a mile from the vessel,and remained visible for 10 minutes

“At this moment three luminous bodies issued from the sea, about half a mile from the vessel, and remained visible for 10 minutes.”

At the same time, 1,400 miles away at Ainab on Mount Lebanon, a “fiery meteor, composed of two large bodies, each at least five times larger than the moon”, appeared in the west and hung around for an hour.

In their book, the two authors dispute the notion that the incidents off Malta and in Lebanon happened at exactly the same time.

They go into detail about the incident, including the stench observed on that night and the undersea volcanoes in the area.

Chris Aubeck with scientist Jacques Vallee, author of the foreword for the book, and (right) co-author Martin Shough.

A section of the chapter focuses on the brig. Although referred to as Victoria, it is not yet clear which vessel it was. Mr Shough told this newspaper that although the incident was not totally unknown, only a few specialists interested in old UFOs were aware of it.

It has never been properly examined before and no one has ever suggested a plausible explanation.

In their book, the two men note that while the fireball in Lebanon could be explained as an ordinary meteor, the lights observed at sea were a more interesting puzzle.

Since the incident happened on a plateau between Malta and the Straits of Sicily, they are suggesting that the sailors saw plumes of glowing gas released into the air by a submarine volcano – a theory supported by the mention of the stinking of sulphur.

The book has just been published and is available through Amazon, The Book Depository or Barnes and Noble, and the authors are considering issuing an electronic version.

Those with any information that could shed light on the Victoria brig or other aspects of the incident can get in touch on parcellular@btinternet or icaubeck@gmail.com.