Two wrecks discovered next to fortune-carrying galleon San José - video

In Colombia, researchers have discovered two new shipwrecks that rest near the wreck of the legendary galleon San José full of treasure.

-- Advertisement --

Colombian President Iván Duque announced in an official speech the fantastic discovery made by researchers off the coast of Cartagena. At the bottom of the Caribbean Sea, scientists have found two unknown wrecks that sank near the legendary galleon San José.

The last mentioned wreck was sunk by the British fleet in 1708 and its location remained a mystery until 2015. This is significant because the San José was transporting a huge cargo of riches, including, among others, 200 tonnes of gold. The value of the entire cargo was estimated by experts at around USD 17 billion!

We found another two wrecks. One dating from the colonial period and another that, from the point of view of preliminary analysis, corresponds to the republican period of our history – Duque said in a statement.

The Colombian president also revealed that at the moment researchers have data on around a dozen similar wrecks. Currently, archaeologists and specialists are exploring these locations together with navy teams.

Inaccessible fortune from the galleon San José

At the moment there are still no details about the newly discovered wrecks. However, if they are near the wreck of the San José, getting to them will be difficult and expensive. The legendary Spanish galleon rests at a depth of almost 950m and exploring and extracting anything from this site is an extremely difficult task.

To date, Colombian researchers have carried out four exploration missions, exploring the San José wreck using remotely operated ROVs. The documentation gathered has confirmed that the site is undoubtedly intact and full of artefacts. Alongside porcelain vessels, pottery, glass bottles and gold, cannons that were once the ship’s armament are also visible.

Unexpected discovery

It was while exploring the area around the San José wreck that researchers came across two previously unknown wrecks. According to the findings so far, these are a colonial-era galleon and a schooner from the post-colonial period.

Thanks to the technological equipment and the work of the Colombian Navy, we were able to capture the images with extreme precision. This is why, for the first time, we can see these wrecks so accurately – said President Ivan Duque.

Now researchers and the navy will focus on exploring further positions. All the time, however, activities are taking place that will enable the future recovery of the huge fortune that sank with the galleon San José. The question is: to whom will the great fortune accrue? This is currently being disputed by Colombia, Spain and the descendants of the indigenous inhabitants of these lands in colonial times.

Without a doubt, Sweden is famous for its magnificent wrecks that rest at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. One of them is the magnificent Bodekull warship wreck from the 17th century, which we visited in 2021. You will read more about it in issue 19 the DIVERS24 quarterly magazine! The digital version of the magazine is available free of charge, while you can purchase the printed version in our online shop.