A unique discovery in the ocean: The wreck of a Spanish galleon hid a treasure of immense value
Among the finds that indicate from the treasures were that for some rich nobles or the royal family, for example, there is a gold pendant with the cross of Santiago and a bezoar, which was then valued in Europe for its healing properties. It has the shape of a scallop shell, i.e. a symbol recognized by pilgrims heading to Santiago de Compostela in the Spanish autonomous region of Galicia. The artifact thus belongs to the findings associated with the Sacred Order of Santiago. This military-religious order protected pilgrims and was an active component in Spain’s maritime trade.
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Another pendant found represents the golden cross of St. James Santiago above a large green oval emerald framed by a dozen square emeralds, which probably symbolize the twelve apostles.
Carl Allen, owner of Allen Exploration, the company behind the expedition, is thrilled with the discoveries. “When we pulled out the oval pendant with the emerald and gold, it took my breath away,” he told Guardian. “I relate more to finds from everyday life than to coins and jewelry, but the treasures of Santiago bring both worlds together. The pendant fascinates me when I hold it in my hand and think about its history. How these tiny appendages survived in these rough waters and how we managed to find them. This is a marvelous miracle,” he added.
The finds end up in the museum
Allen decided to search for the wreckage because of the belief that the ship was not completely destroyed. So he put together a team to find the lost stern, which was thought to have separated and been carried away by the sea. Unlike their predecessors, who simply sold the artifacts they found, they also planned to subject the remains of the ship to scientific research.
“The galleon wreck has had a difficult history. In the 17th and 18th centuries it was intensively “explored” by Spanish, English, French, Dutch, Bahamian and American expeditions, and from the 1970s to the early 1990s it was rescued in a flash by rescuers. Some say the remains of the ship were ground to dust,” explained the philanthropist with a passion for history sunk at the bottom of the Allen Sea.
His team used state-of-the-art science to discover how the Maravillas had been wrecked and then scattered by hurricanes. “Using modern technology and scientific knowledge, we are now following a long and winding trail of debris finds,” he explained.
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The ship sank on the west side of the Little Bahama Bank, more than seventy kilometers from shore. However, the newly discovered treasures were found in an extensive route more than thirteen kilometers long.
According to the English marine archaeologist Sean Kingsley, such miraculous finds are extraordinary because they appeared under thick sand in the middle of nowhere. “It’s a successful keyhole archaeological operation,” the Observer reported.
Allen Exploration, which employs Bahamian and American marine archaeologists and divers, has received a scientific exploration license from the Bahamian government and has committed to displaying the find in a new museum in the Bahamas.
Treasures on dying corals
The expedition also retrieved data on health, seabed geology and plastic pollution to understand how archeology and the marine environment interact. “The seabed is barren,” Allen told the paper Guardian and added: “The colorful corals that divers remembered from the 1970s are gone. Poisoned by ocean acidification and smothered by meters of quicksand. It’s painfully sad. However, sparkling finds still lie on those dead gray cliffs.’
From the ship itself, the team also discovered iron fasteners that once held the hull together, and iron rings and pins from rigging. Evidence of the ship’s catering was also found, from olive containers to a Chinese and Mexican plate, and personal items, including a silver hilt for a soldier’s sword and a pearl ring.
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Since all shipwrecks in Bahamian waters are the property of the Bahamian government, the recovered items will end up at the newly established Bahamian Maritime Museum in the port city of Freeport. Allen Exploration sponsors this museum.
The crew was eaten by sharks
The Spanish galleon Maravillas was named after a 13th-century statue of the “miraculous” Virgin Mary in a Madrid convent. She was heading home to Spain from Havana, Cuba, with treasures from the Americas, which included royal and private consignments, but also contraband and a rich cargo salvaged from another Spanish ship wrecked off Ecuador.
However, around midnight on January 4, 1656, she sank due to a navigational error while emerging from shallow waters. During the collision with the flagship, the fleet hit a reef and only 45 of the 650 people on board survived. Sharks were responsible for many of the human casualties.