Colombia shares unprecedented images of treasure-laden wreck
Hervé BAR
Tue, June 7, 2022
Colombia's army has shared unprecedented images of the legendary San Jose galleon shipwreck, hidden underwater for three centuries and believed to have been carrying riches worth billions of dollars in today's money.
Four observation missions using a remotely operated vehicle were sent to the wreck at a depth of almost 950 meters (3,100 feet) off Colombia's Caribbean coast, the army said in a statement late Monday.
These missions, carried out by the navy under the supervision of the culture ministry, found the galleon untouched by "human intervention."
Cannons partially covered by mud are visible alongside porcelain crockery, pottery, glass bottles and also gold pieces.
A part of the bow can be clearly seen covered in algae and shellfish, as well as the remains of the frame of the hull.
Authorities said they had also discovered two more shipwrecks during their observation mission -- a colonial-era galleon and a schooner from the post-colonial period.
"Thanks to the technological equipment and the Colombian navy's work, we managed to capture images with a level of precision that's never been seen before," said President Ivan Duque.
He said the wreck was "kept intact and protected with a view towards a future retrieval."
When that happens, though, Colombia will face a challenge from Spain and an indigenous group in Bolivia to determine who keeps the bounty.
- Lost for 300 years -
The San Jose galleon was owned by the Spanish crown when it was sunk by the British navy near Cartagena in 1708.
Only a handful of its 600-strong crew survived.
It was heading back from the New World to the court of King Philip V of Spain.
At the time, it was laden with treasures estimated to be worth billions of dollars at current rates.
Before its discovery in 2015, it was long sought after by treasure hunters.
Experts believe it contains at least 200 tons of gold, silver and emeralds.
Colombia considers wrecks found in its territorial waters to be part of its cultural heritage, meaning the contents cannot be sold.
Spain insists that the bounty is theirs since it was aboard a Spanish ship, while Bolivia's Qhara Qhara nation says it should get the treasures as the Spanish forced the community's people to mine the precious metals.
When the wreck was discovered, then Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos lauded it as "the most precious treasure ever found in the history of the world."
He had proposed to finance the recovery mission with the proceeds from selling part of the find, but Duque put a stop to that to ensure the entirety of the wreck would remain in Colombia.
Colombian authorities have announced their intention to create a museum of shipwrecks that would be "a source of pride for Colombia, the Caribbean and the world."
Recovering the wreck presents a technological and scientific challenge due to its depth.
Authorities have identified another 13 sites off the coast of Cartagena that they want to explore in search of other shipwrecks.
Hervé BAR
Tue, June 7, 2022
Colombia's army has shared unprecedented images of the legendary San Jose galleon shipwreck, hidden underwater for three centuries and believed to have been carrying riches worth billions of dollars in today's money.
Four observation missions using a remotely operated vehicle were sent to the wreck at a depth of almost 950 meters (3,100 feet) off Colombia's Caribbean coast, the army said in a statement late Monday.
These missions, carried out by the navy under the supervision of the culture ministry, found the galleon untouched by "human intervention."
Cannons partially covered by mud are visible alongside porcelain crockery, pottery, glass bottles and also gold pieces.
A part of the bow can be clearly seen covered in algae and shellfish, as well as the remains of the frame of the hull.
Authorities said they had also discovered two more shipwrecks during their observation mission -- a colonial-era galleon and a schooner from the post-colonial period.
"Thanks to the technological equipment and the Colombian navy's work, we managed to capture images with a level of precision that's never been seen before," said President Ivan Duque.
He said the wreck was "kept intact and protected with a view towards a future retrieval."
When that happens, though, Colombia will face a challenge from Spain and an indigenous group in Bolivia to determine who keeps the bounty.
- Lost for 300 years -
The San Jose galleon was owned by the Spanish crown when it was sunk by the British navy near Cartagena in 1708.
Only a handful of its 600-strong crew survived.
It was heading back from the New World to the court of King Philip V of Spain.
At the time, it was laden with treasures estimated to be worth billions of dollars at current rates.
Before its discovery in 2015, it was long sought after by treasure hunters.
Experts believe it contains at least 200 tons of gold, silver and emeralds.
Colombia considers wrecks found in its territorial waters to be part of its cultural heritage, meaning the contents cannot be sold.
Spain insists that the bounty is theirs since it was aboard a Spanish ship, while Bolivia's Qhara Qhara nation says it should get the treasures as the Spanish forced the community's people to mine the precious metals.
When the wreck was discovered, then Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos lauded it as "the most precious treasure ever found in the history of the world."
He had proposed to finance the recovery mission with the proceeds from selling part of the find, but Duque put a stop to that to ensure the entirety of the wreck would remain in Colombia.
Colombian authorities have announced their intention to create a museum of shipwrecks that would be "a source of pride for Colombia, the Caribbean and the world."
Recovering the wreck presents a technological and scientific challenge due to its depth.
Authorities have identified another 13 sites off the coast of Cartagena that they want to explore in search of other shipwrecks.
VIDEO
Centuries-old shipwrecks containing gold coins found off Colombia
Artifacts found in the wreckage of Spanish galleon San Jose
Mon, June 6, 2022
BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian naval officials conducting underwater monitoring of the long-sunken San Jose galleon have discovered two other historical shipwrecks nearby, President Ivan Duque said on Monday.
The San Jose galleon, thought by historians to be carrying treasure that would be worth billions of dollars, sank in 1708 near Colombia's Caribbean port of Cartagena.
Its potential recovery has been the subject of decades of litigation.
A remotely operated vehicle reached 900 meters depth, Duque and naval officials said in a video statement, allowing new videos of the wreckage.
The vehicle also discovered two other nearby wrecks - a colonial boat and a schooner thought to be from around the same period as Colombia's war for independence from Spain, some 200 years ago.
"We now have two other discoveries in the same area, that show other options for archaeological exploration," navy commander Admiral Gabriel Perez said. "So the work is just beginning."
The images offer the best-yet view of the treasure that was aboard the San Jose - including gold ingots and coins, cannons made in Seville in 1655 and an intact Chinese dinner service.
Archaeologists from the navy and government are working to determine the origin of the plates based on inscriptions, the officials said.
"The idea is to recover it and to have sustainable financing mechanisms for future extractions," President Ivan Duque said. "In this way we protect the treasure, the patrimony of the San Jose galleon."
(Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
New video shows gold coins and treasure from "holy grail" of shipwrecks
CBSNews
Tue, June 7, 2022
New video shows gold coins and other treasure scattered around a long-lost shipwreck off the coast of Colombia — as well as two other historical shipwrecks nearby, officials said Monday. Maritime experts consider the wreck of the San Jose to be the "holy grail" of Spanish colonial shipwrecks.
President Ivan Duque and naval officials said on Monday that a remotely operated vehicle reached 900 meters below the surface of the ocean, showing new images of the wreckage.
The video shows the best-yet view of the treasure that was aboard the San Jose — including gold ingots and coins, cannons made in Seville in 1655 and an intact Chinese dinner service, Reuters reported.
The news agency reported the remotely operated vehicle also discovered two other shipwrecks in the area, including a schooner thought to be from about two centuries ago.
"We now have two other discoveries in the same area, that show other options for archaeological exploration," navy commander Admiral Gabriel Perez said, according to Reuters.
Colombia was a colony of Spain when the San Jose was sunk in 1708, and gold from across South America, especially modern-day Peru and Bolivia, was stored in the fort of its coastal city, Cartagena, before being shipped back to Europe.
The Colombian government considers it a "national treasure" and wants it to be displayed in a future museum to be built in Cartagena.
The Spanish San Jose Galleon sunk in the Caribbean in 1708 after a battle with the British. New data suggests such shipwrecks could reveal the history of hurricanes in the region. / Credit: Samuel Scott
According to a presidential decree released earlier this year, companies or individuals interested in excavating the ship will have to sign a "contract" with the state and submit a detailed inventory of their finds to the government as well as plans for handling the goods.
The uber-loot, which experts estimate to include at least 200 tons of gold, silver and emeralds, will be a point of pride for Colombia, Vice President and top diplomat Marta Lucia Ramirez said in a statement. The treasure could be worth billions of dollars if ever recovered.
"The sums of wealth are invaluable, and the responsibility of the protégés has already been extracted, contributing to the history of Colombia, the Caribbean and the world," she said.
Long the daydream of treasure hunters worldwide, the San Jose galleon was sunk by the British Navy on the night of June 7, 1708, off Cartagena de Indias.
The San Jose was at the time carrying gold, silver and precious stones which were to be delivered from the Spanish colonies in Latin America to the court of King Philip V.
Only a few of the San Jose's 600-member crew survived the wreck.
"It makes it very touchy because one is not supposed to intervene in war graves," Justin Leidwanger, an archaeologist at Stanford University who studies ancient shipwrecks, told Live Science in 2015. "Can you pluck treasure off the seabed without disturbing a war grave? I doubt you can. But these are the sort of discussions that will be had."
At the end of 2015, then-Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced the discovery of the exact location of the wreck, which was confirmed by the ship's unique bronze cannons with dolphin engravings.
Colombia has said it will cost about $70 million to carry out a full salvage operation on the wreckage, which is at a depth of between 2,000 and 3,200 feet.
Spain says the wreck is its own, as a ship of state; and an indigenous group in Bolivia, the Qhara Qhara, says the treasure belongs to them, since their ancestors were forced to mine it from what was in the 1500s the world's largest silver mine.
Artifacts found in the wreckage of Spanish galleon San Jose are seen in this undated handout photo provided by the Colombian Ministry of Culture on December 5, 2015. / Credit: REUTERS/Colombian Ministry of Culture/Handout via Reuters
CBSNews
Tue, June 7, 2022
New video shows gold coins and other treasure scattered around a long-lost shipwreck off the coast of Colombia — as well as two other historical shipwrecks nearby, officials said Monday. Maritime experts consider the wreck of the San Jose to be the "holy grail" of Spanish colonial shipwrecks.
President Ivan Duque and naval officials said on Monday that a remotely operated vehicle reached 900 meters below the surface of the ocean, showing new images of the wreckage.
The video shows the best-yet view of the treasure that was aboard the San Jose — including gold ingots and coins, cannons made in Seville in 1655 and an intact Chinese dinner service, Reuters reported.
The news agency reported the remotely operated vehicle also discovered two other shipwrecks in the area, including a schooner thought to be from about two centuries ago.
"We now have two other discoveries in the same area, that show other options for archaeological exploration," navy commander Admiral Gabriel Perez said, according to Reuters.
Colombia was a colony of Spain when the San Jose was sunk in 1708, and gold from across South America, especially modern-day Peru and Bolivia, was stored in the fort of its coastal city, Cartagena, before being shipped back to Europe.
The Colombian government considers it a "national treasure" and wants it to be displayed in a future museum to be built in Cartagena.
The Spanish San Jose Galleon sunk in the Caribbean in 1708 after a battle with the British. New data suggests such shipwrecks could reveal the history of hurricanes in the region. / Credit: Samuel Scott
According to a presidential decree released earlier this year, companies or individuals interested in excavating the ship will have to sign a "contract" with the state and submit a detailed inventory of their finds to the government as well as plans for handling the goods.
The uber-loot, which experts estimate to include at least 200 tons of gold, silver and emeralds, will be a point of pride for Colombia, Vice President and top diplomat Marta Lucia Ramirez said in a statement. The treasure could be worth billions of dollars if ever recovered.
"The sums of wealth are invaluable, and the responsibility of the protégés has already been extracted, contributing to the history of Colombia, the Caribbean and the world," she said.
Long the daydream of treasure hunters worldwide, the San Jose galleon was sunk by the British Navy on the night of June 7, 1708, off Cartagena de Indias.
The San Jose was at the time carrying gold, silver and precious stones which were to be delivered from the Spanish colonies in Latin America to the court of King Philip V.
Only a few of the San Jose's 600-member crew survived the wreck.
"It makes it very touchy because one is not supposed to intervene in war graves," Justin Leidwanger, an archaeologist at Stanford University who studies ancient shipwrecks, told Live Science in 2015. "Can you pluck treasure off the seabed without disturbing a war grave? I doubt you can. But these are the sort of discussions that will be had."
At the end of 2015, then-Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced the discovery of the exact location of the wreck, which was confirmed by the ship's unique bronze cannons with dolphin engravings.
Colombia has said it will cost about $70 million to carry out a full salvage operation on the wreckage, which is at a depth of between 2,000 and 3,200 feet.
Spain says the wreck is its own, as a ship of state; and an indigenous group in Bolivia, the Qhara Qhara, says the treasure belongs to them, since their ancestors were forced to mine it from what was in the 1500s the world's largest silver mine.
Artifacts found in the wreckage of Spanish galleon San Jose are seen in this undated handout photo provided by the Colombian Ministry of Culture on December 5, 2015. / Credit: REUTERS/Colombian Ministry of Culture/Handout via Reuters
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