Colombia discovers two historical shipwrecks in Caribbean

Artifacts discovered within the wreckage of Spanish galleon San Jose, Cartagena, Colombia are seen on this undated handout image launched by the Colombian Presidency to Reuters on June 6, 2022. Colombian Presidency/Handout through REUTERS

BOGOTA, June 6 (Reuters) – Colombian naval officers conducting underwater monitoring of the long-sunken San Jose galleon have found two different historic shipwrecks close by, President Ivan Duque stated on Monday.

The San Jose galleon, thought by historians to be carrying treasure that may be value billions of {dollars}, sank in 1708 close to Colombia’s Caribbean port of Cartagena.

Its potential restoration has been the topic of many years of litigation.

A remotely operated automobile reached 900 meters depth, Duque and naval officers stated in a video assertion, permitting new movies of the wreckage.

The automobile additionally found two different close by wrecks – a colonial boat and a schooner considered from across the identical interval as Colombia’s conflict for independence from Spain, some 200 years in the past.

“We now have two different discoveries in the identical space, that present different choices for archaeological exploration,” navy commander Admiral Gabriel Perez stated. “So the work is simply starting.”

The photographs supply the best-yet view of the treasure that was aboard the San Jose – together with gold ingots and cash, cannons made in Seville in 1655 and an intact Chinese language dinner service.

Archaeologists from the navy and authorities are working to find out the origin of the plates primarily based on inscriptions, the officers stated.

“The thought is to recuperate it and to have sustainable financing mechanisms for future extractions,” President Ivan Duque stated. “On this means we defend the treasure, the patrimony of the San Jose galleon.”

Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb. Enhancing by Gerry Doyle

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