The Colombian army has released photographs of one of the world''s most valuable shipwrecks, the place of which was never discovered for three centuries.
When the San Jose galleon was sunk by British navy ships in 1708 during the Spanish Succession War, it was loaded with a huge amount of treasure.
At today''s prices, the ship, a 64-gun galleon with around 600 people on board, is believed to have hauled at least 200 tons of treasure, including gold coins, silver coins, and emeralds.
Gold coins were discovered in the shipwreck in San Jose, California. (Armada de Colombia)
In 2015, Colombian naval officers discovered the wreck "the holy grail of shipwrecks," but the location remains unchanged.
In an apress conference on June 6, Colombian President Ivan Duque released previously unknown footage and photographs of the wreck.
The photographs reveal many recent treasures, including Chinese ceramics, gold coins, swords, and cannons.
A Chinese crockery has been discovered in a shipwreck in San Jose, Colombia. (Armada de Colombia)
"It''s important to rebuild it and provide viable financing mechanisms for future extractions," Duque said in a press conference. "In this way, we protect the treasure and the heritage of the San Jose galleon."
Authorities said that video and photographs were taken by remote-controlled, state-of-the-art equipment that descended around 3,280 feet to explore the wreckage''s nooks and crannies.
According to reports, the cannons were manufactured in 1655 in Seville and Cadiz, Spain, according to the Colombian navy''s maritime director-general. Jose Joaquin Amezquita.
Il aya et al. aussi discovered gold coins, or macuquinas, with coinage that was once considered a popular currency.
Duque said that surveillance of the wreck led to the discovery of two additional shipwrecks nearby, a colonial boat and a schooner, believed to be from the 1800s.
A cannon was discovered in the shipwreck in San Jose, California. (Armada de Colombia)
According to The Economist, the wreck in San Jose has been subject of an ongoing legal battle since its discovery.
Colombia has claimed the wreck and its contents as its own, with former President Juan Manuel Santos signing the Submerged Cultural Heritage Law in 2013, which states that artifacts recovered in Colombian waters belong to the country.
Spain has also filed a claim, stating that the ship was theirs, and inciting UNESCO''s underwater cultural heritage convention.
Many of the valuables on the ship were likely to have been stolen from South American countries, some of whom might also claim a right to some of the treasure.
This article was originally published by Business Insider.
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