Colombia confirms find of legendary 300-year-old shipwreck with billions worth of gold, jewels

CARTAGENA, December 5th, 2015 (EFE and ICR News) Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos confirmed Saturday that the legendary galleon San Jose, a Spanish ship that was sunk in 1708 near Cartagena of the Indies with a cargo of gold and silver coins valued in the billions of dollars today, was found at dawn on Nov. 27.

“I feel very pleased, as head of state, to inform Colombians that undoubtedly, without a doubt of any kind, we have discovered the galleon San Jose, 307 years after it sank, Santos said in a statement at Cartagena. This constitutes one of the greatest – if not the biggest, as some say – discoveries of submerged patrimony in the history of mankind.”

Experts described the San Jose as the “holy grail of shipwrecks” over the weekend, with a trove of gold, silver and jewels valued somewhere between USD $4 billion and $17 billion.

According to the president, the operation to find the San Jose, which English pirates shot and sank with cannons, was coordinated by the Colombian Anthropology and History Institute, or ICANH, from the naval vessel ARC Malpelo, with the aid of international scientists and modern technologies.

Santos said the discovery came “at sunrise Friday, Nov. 27″ during an operation of the Colombian Anthropology and History Institute, with the participation of the Colombian navy and several international scientists.

The Spanish galleon was found “near Colombia’s Caribbean coast, in our waters, in an archaeological site that turned out to hold the flagship San Jose.”

Built in 1698 and loaded with gold and silver coins, the San Jose set sail in early 1708 from Portobelo, Panama, together with other ships of the Spanish Armada, en route to Cartagena of the Indies, but near the island of Baru it was attacked by English pirates and was sunk by cannon fire.

“It is a discovery of international importance, it constitutes one of the greatest discoveries and identifications of our submarine heritage, if not the very greatest, some say, in the history of humanity,” the president said.

ICANH director Ernesto Montenegro said identification of the ship was made possible by “the presence of bronze cannons cast especially for the galleon,” whose photos were displayed Saturday and which, for the expert, “leave no doubt about the identity of this archaeological site.”

Santos recalled as a tribute “the 600 sailors who died when the San Jose galleon sank.”

According to Santos, the San Jose shipwreck is “the heritage of all Colombians and protecting it ought to be a national mission.”