Another treasure found at the Atocha wreck!

For years, adventurous divers have joined expeditions led by famed treasure hunter Mel Fisher. The vision of finding underwater treasure has fired and still fires many a head today. The patience of a few has paid off. Less than a fortnight ago, a group of lucky people experienced the thrill of finding treasure hidden for years in the depths.

-- Advertisement --

Treasure hunters have managed to recover 2kg of gold bars and 20 silver coins from the wreck of Spain’s most famous ship, the Atocha, which sank in 1662 near the Florida Keys. Andy Matroci, the captain of the Magruder and a famous participant in many similar expeditions (a total of over 21,000 hours spent underwater!) admitted that gold bars 12 inches long were found.

Very importantly, the bars have no markings, which allows us to assume that they were part of the contraband smuggled on board. The bars that had been recovered from the wreck of the Atocha had marks indicating the number of carats and Spanish crown marks indicating that a 20% tax had been paid.

The year 2011 seems to be exceptionally kind to Mel Fisher. This is already his second serious find this year. Earlier, he managed to recover from the vicinity of the same wreck, a gold chain almost 1.2m long, consisting of 55 links about 2cm long. The chain was additionally adorned with a gold cross and a medallion made of the same bullion. The crucifix is about 5cm long, has an arm span of over 3.5cm and is over 0.5cm thick. It is additionally decorated with inscriptions engraved in Latin on its edges. The medallion, in turn, is decorated with an image of the Virgin Mary on the obverse and a chalice on the reverse.

As you can see, the Atocha wreck still hides many secrets and treasures just waiting to be discovered. The search by Mel Fisher’s team continues. But the best part is that you can always join one of the expeditions and become a real underwater treasure hunter! You can find out more about the project and the opportunities it offers on the official project website http://www.melfisher.com/.

Source: www.diverwire.com