Cannon, coins recovered from

A cannon, three coins and a porcelain cup were among the first objects that Colombian scientists recovered from the depths of the Caribbean Sea, where the mythical Spaniards san jose galleon It sank in 1708 after being attacked by an English fleet, authorities said Thursday.

The recovery is part of a scientific investigation that the government authorized last year to study the wreck and the causes of the sinking. Colombian researchers He located the galleon in 2015, leading to legal and diplomatic disputes. Its exact location is a state secret.

Nicknamed the “Holy Grail of shipwrecks” It is believed that the boat holds 11 million gold and silver coins.emeralds and other precious cargoes from Spanish-controlled colonies, which could be worth billions of dollars if ever recovered.

President Gustavo Petro’s government has said the purpose of the deep-sea expedition is research and not seizure of treasure.

The cannon, coins and porcelain cup will undergo a conservation process in a laboratory dedicated to the expedition, Colombia’s Ministry of Culture said in a statement Thursday.

the remains It is almost 2,000 feet deep in the sea.

“This historic event demonstrates the strengthening of the technical, professional and technological capabilities of the Colombian State to protect and promote Underwater Cultural Heritage, as part of Colombian identity and history,” Yannai Kadamani Fonrodona, Minister of Cultures, Arts and Knowledge, said in a statement.

The prevailing theory has been that an explosion caused the three-masted, 62-gun galleon to sink after being ambushed by an English squadron. But the Colombian government has suggested that she could have sunk for other reasons, including damage to the hull.

The ship has been the subject of a legal battle in the United States, Colombia and Spain over who owns the rights to the sunken treasure.

Colombia is in an arbitration dispute with Sea Search Armada, a group of American investors, over the economic rights of the San José. The firm claims 10 billion dollars corresponding to what they assume is worth 50% of the galleon treasure that they claim to have discovered in 1982.

Earlier this year, researchers analyzed intricately designed gold coins found near the shipwreckconfirming that they are indeed from the iconic San José. The coins feature depictions of castles, lions and crosses on the obverse and the “Crowned Pillars of Hercules” above ocean waves on the reverse, according to a new study published in the journal Antiquity.

In 2024, Colombian authorities said a remotely operated vehicle inspected the wreckage and discovered numerous artifactsincluding an anchor, jugs and glass bottles.

The Colombian government announced last year that it would begin extractions from the ship off its Caribbean coast, using multiple remotely operated vehicles. The exact location of the ship has been kept secret to protect the wreck from potential treasure hunters.

Since its discovery, multiple parties have claimed the shipwreck, including Colombia, Spain and the indigenous Qhara Qhara Bolivians who claim the treasures on board were stolen from them. The wreck has also been claimed by the US-based salvage company Sea Search Armada, which says it first discovered the wreck more than 40 years ago.

The cause of the sinking of the San José has also been debated. British documents indicate that the ship did not explode, according to the Colombian government, but Spanish reports suggest that the ship exploded in battle.

Either way, the ship, loaded with chests of emeralds and around 200 tons of gold, sank with most of its crew while returning from the New World to Spain on June 7, 1708.

in May 2024, Colombia declared the site of the shipwreck a “protected archaeological zone”.