‘Holy grail’ shipwreck with £16bn of treasure discovered 300 years after Royal Navy sank it
Underwater photos have confirmed to researchers that the ‘holy grail of shipwrecks’ could have been found after more than 300 years – but ownership of the Spanish galleon is disputed
A sunken Spanish galleon with a £16billion treasure trove may have finally been found.
Researchers believe they have discovered the San José, known as the “holy grail of shipwrecks”, in the Caribbean. The 300-year-old ship, laden with loot including gold and silver coins and bullion as well as emeralds, was sunk in June 1708 by the Royal Navy.
But boffins believe new images and artefacts recovered from the legendary wreckage, found in 2015 near Baru Island, off Cartagena, prove it is the missing ship and treasure. Colombian academics used underwater drones to examine the remains 1,970 feet beneath the surface.
They said they identified silver coins known as “cobs” or “macuquinas” bearing the mark of Lima, Peru, and dated 1707 – the same year the ship set sail.
Some coins feature the royal symbols of Castile and León, emblems of Spain’s empire.
They also discovered Chinese porcelain from the Kangxi period, from 1662 to 1722, and cannons with inscriptions dating back to 1665. The findings, published this week in the journal Antiquity, provide the strongest evidence yet it is the fabled vessel.
(Image: Wikipedia)
The academics said: “This body of evidence substantiates the identification of the wreck as the San José Galleon, a hypothesis that has been put forward since its initial discovery in 2015.
“The finding of cobs created in 1707 at the Lima Mint points to a vessel navigating the Tierra Firme route in the early 18th Century. The San Jose Galleon is the only ship that matches these characteristics.
“This find presents a rare opportunity to explore an underwater archaeological site and deepen our understanding of colonial maritime trade and routes.”
The San Jose was sunk during the War of the Spanish Succession.
It was intercepted by a British squadron under Charles Wager, who would later serve as First Lord of the Admiralty. The vessel’s powder magazines detonated during the attack, causing it to sink and leaving only 11 of the San Jose’s 600 sailors alive.
Its treasure was being ferried from Peru to Spain to help fund the Spanish war effort – making the sinking of the San Jose a huge blow to Madrid.
The war would end with Britain gaining control of Gibraltar, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.
But the new discovery is expected to reignite a fierce legal battle over ownership of the treasure.
The governments of Colombia, Spain and Peru all stake claims to the San Jose, as do indigenous communities and the descendants of the miners who dug up the treasure.
Treasure-hunting firm Glocca Morra also claims it discovered the wreckage as long ago as 1981. Its new owners Sea Search Armada believe the vessel was found within a mile or two of its 1981 discovery.
The firm is claiming £7.9billion and is challenging a 2020 Colombian law that says everything on board is the government’s property.
