The Colombian Navy just found a real-life sunken treasure chest!
The San José galleon spent an astounding 307 years underwater after sinking in Cartagena before it was finally discovered in December 2015. The General Maritime Directorate teamed up with the navy to do a sweep of the area near the shipwreck and were blown away when TWO MORE SHIPWRECKS were discovered near the San José! X may mark the spot — but sometimes it’s good to look a little east and west of X, too!
Innerestingly, these new shipwrecks are actually speculated to be from two different eras of history — one from the 1500s and the other from the 1800s. Although nothing is confirmed yet, theories suggest that one of these ships could even be from one of Colombia’s independence battles. If that’s true, this wreckage could be a HUGE part of Colombian history!
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In a press release on Monday, Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez said the previously unreported shipwrecks “add to the historical heritage context of the Colombian Caribbean”.
What an incredible piece of history! And definitely a champagne-poppable moment for the navy members that stumbled upon it!
The excitement doesn’t stop there, though, because these ships are filled to the bow with precious treasures and artifacts that could be worth billions! In a video posted to Twitter by Colombia’s Minister of Defense, Diego Molano Aponte, the seafloor is seen covered with gold coins, cannons, pottery, and gorgeous blue willow style porcelain teacups. See the video yourself (below):
¡Qué orgullo! Expedición no intrusiva de @ArmadaColombia en el Galeón San José permitió hallazgo de 2 naufragios.
Esta es una demostración más del trabajo de nuestros hombres y mujeres de Armada, siempre protegiendo los intereses marítimos de la Nación y la soberanía del país. pic.twitter.com/vfjf83sF4W
— Diego Molano Aponte (@Diego_Molano) June 7, 2022
Wow! It would seem the sea life has gotten comfortable in the wreckage, as well! Does that fish know that it’s just casually swimming around billions of dollars?!
So, what’s to come of all this precious cargo?
That question is left unanswered for now, because ownership of the original wreckage is still under legal review. According to BBC, Spain has claimed The San José as a “ship of the state” because it belonged to them when it was sunk. If that’s the case, would all the other wreckages be put under review until we know exactly when they sank (and more importantly — who owned them at the time)?
Former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos had his own ideas, however. In 2015 he expressed that items from the site would go to a new museum that was to be built in Cartagena.
We guess we’ll have to wait and see who gets all the gold doubloons. In the meantime, we think a trip to the beach with a metal detector is in order!
[Image via Twitter/Diego Molano Aponte/Colombia Armada/Sony/YouTube]
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