Shipwreck carrying $17 billion in treasure found after three centuries
The San José, loaded with gold, silver and emeralds worth an estimated $17 billion, was sunk by the British 310 years ago in the Caribbean Sea.
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REMUS 6000 photographed the wreck of the San José during its 2015 exploration. Photo:AP. |
After lying at the bottom of the sea for 310 years, the San José was finally officially identified thanks to analysis of the distinctive bronze cannons that sank with the ship,Live ScienceYesterday news. In 1708, the San José, a Spanish galleon loaded with gold, silver, and emeralds, sank in a fierce battle with the British in the Caribbean Sea.
The bronze cannons still have decorative dolphin engravings, according to records from REMUS 6000, an unmanned underwater vehicle (AUV) that once came within 30 feet of the wreck, according to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). While WHOI has known these details since 2015, the joint agencies, Maritime Archaeology Consultants (MAC), Switzerland AG, and the Colombian government, have only recently allowed the team to publish the results of the expedition.
The San José carried 62 guns, but was still outgunned by the British. The fleet of warships escorted the San José and its treasure on much of its annual voyage from the New World to Europe. In fact, when it sank, the San José was carrying treasure dug up in Peru, worth between $4 billion and $17 billion today. The treasure was intended to be used to sustain the War of the Spanish Succession, a conflict that pitted Spain and France against England.
However, in 1708, the escorting warships were delayed and the Spanish commander, Admiral José Fernandez de Santillan, Count of Casa Alegre, decided to sail anyway. It was a big mistake. Four English ships surrounded the San José and its crew of more than 500 men. After a bloody battle, the San José caught fire and sank to the bottom of the ocean.
Treasure hunters and archaeologists then attempted to locate the ship, a goal achieved on November 27, 2015, when an international team of scientists working on the Colombian Navy research vessel ARC Malpelo discovered the wreck at a depth of 600 meters off the Barú Peninsula.
At the time, the team was unsure whether the wreck was the San José, so in 2015, WHOI sent REMUS 6000 into the water to take a closer look. “REMUS 6000 is an ideal instrument because it can perform long missions in open water,” said Mike Purcell, WHOI engineer and expedition leader.
REMUS 6000 records show the wreck was partially covered by sediment. Decorative engravings on the cannons allowed Roger Dooley, a maritime archaeologist at MAC, to confirm that the ship was indeed the San José.
