More Artifacts from the Holy Grail of Shipwrecks Found Near Colombia

A large Spanish galleon known as the San Jose sunk off the northern coast of Colombia in 1708. On its way to Panama, the ship was carrying an astonishingly valuable cargo of gold, silver, and precious gems that had either been stolen from the indigenous people of South America or acquired via legal trade, depending on who was telling the story. Because of the incredible treasure that the ship held, it has been referred to as the “ Holy Grail of Shipwrecks” and efforts to recover its contents have been ongoing for many decades.

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One of the two more ships surveyed by underwater robot found while diving the San Jose wreck site. (Presidency of the Republic of Colombia)

Now, underwater explorations sponsored by the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History have succeeded in discovering some artifacts from the ship using high-resolution cameras, according to a statement they have just issued that was reported by the BBC. This does not include any of the gold or silver coins or gemstones the ship was transporting, which had been photographed earlier. What has been identified at the site of the shipwreck this time are several complete items or pieces of items that have significant value as archaeological treasures, even if their monetary worth is limited.

The researchers responsible for this recovery operation refer to the artifacts they’ve found and hope to eventually bring to the surface as an “unprecedented set of archaeological evidence, which has greatly expanded our knowledge.”

According to Alhena Caicedo, the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History director, the 300-year-old items the researchers have spotted and identified include “a series of new materials that we hadn't seen before.”

"Among other things, pieces of wood or parts of the ship's hull, at least remnants indicating that there was wood there, and traces of possible anchors…. Other types of items found include nails, bottles, jars, and some different materials like glass and ceramics."

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Not gold or gemstones, but valuable archaeological evidence. (Presidency of the Republic of Colombia)

Up to now, most efforts to photograph the shipwreck site have focused on its astonishing treasure, which has been valued at more than $20 billion (£16 billion), which is simply an unheard-of amount for any lost treasure.

At the present time, efforts are being made to actually raise and recover the entire shipwreck from the Caribbean Sea floor. This initiative was announced by Colombian President Gustavo Petro in 2023, and he has sworn he will do everything in his power to make sure the San Jose is recovered before his term of office ends in 2026.

Since the wreck lies at a depth of 3,100 feet (945 meters), however, it remains to be seen if this task will actually prove to be feasible.

The True Story of the Wreck and Rediscovery of the San Jose

The San Jose was a warship, a 62-gun galleon that was used to transport men and important cargo during the War of Spanish Succession, which was fought between 1701 and 1714. This conflict broke out after the death of the childless King Charles II of Spain in 1700, and involved several other European powers that were attempting to seize territories controlled by the Spanish in the chaos that followed the sudden interruption of monarchical authority.

In the Americas the Spanish and the British fought a war at sea, and it was the British that sunk the San Jose in 1708. It was well-known that the ship had been filled with treasure, and over the past three centuries many explorers have spent their lives trying to find the “Holy Grail of Shipwrecks.”

 It was only in 2015 that the then-president of Colombia, Juan Manual Santos, announced on Twitter that the Colombian Navy had finally found the wreck of the San Jose on the bottom of the Caribbean, not far from the Colombian seacoast city of Cartagena. These efforts were apparently aided by information obtained from a U.S.-based salvage consortium known as Sea Search Armada, which claims they discovered the shipwreck a few years earlier and had given the coordinates of its location to the Colombian government.

The next exciting development in the saga of the San Jose occurred in 2022, when Colombian President Ivan Duque announced that the Colombian Navy had dispatched a high-resolution camera to the bottom of the sea to take photos of the ship and its cargo. After examining the images of gold, silver, and gemstones that were obtained, experts estimated that the collective worth of these objects exceeded the $20 billion mark, which meant the cargo was 20 times more valuable than previously estimated.

It is now believed the San Jose was carrying as much as 200 tons of gold when it went down, based on what has been seen in the photographs. The pictures taken also revealed the presence on the sea bottom of entire chests filled with emeralds. Because of the tremendous depth at which the shipwreck has been found there is no way for human divers to access these treasures directly, meaning they will be safe until the day comes when they can be removed by robot divers or other high-tech lifting equipment.

So Whose Treasure is It? Archaeologists Aren’t Waiting to Find Out

As efforts continue to lift the three-centuries-old ship from its watery grave, there are ongoing disputes in court over ownership of its bounty.

The Sea Search Armada consortium claims the Colombian government promised them half of all the treasure if they revealed the shipwreck’s coordinates, while the Colombian government says the consortium didn’t really discover the ship and that it was their navy that had done so instead. And the Spanish government has also gotten involved, stating that they should be awarded the ship’s treasure since it was their navy that had been carrying it more than 300 years ago. Complicating the situation even further, the indigenous Qhara Qhara people of Bolivia claim the treasures were stolen from their ancestors and should rightfully be returned to them.

It remains to be seen how this dispute will be resolved. In the meantime, with the aid of underwater cameras and video equipment, archaeologists plan to continue their explorations of the San Jose, to see what other fascinating artifacts they can discover.

Top image: Canons        Source: Presidency of the Republic of Colombia

By Nathan Falde