11 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

‘Holy Grail of shipwrecks’ worth $20 billion in treasure to be raised from seabed

A treasure ship described as the “holy grail of shipwrecks” will reportedly be lifted from the sea floor where it has lay for more than 300 years. Now, the Colombian government has said it will be raised before President Gustavo Petro ends his term of office in 2026.

The shipwreck containing up to 200 tons of gold, silver, and emeralds could be floating on the Caribbean within months after Colombia declared a national mission to recover the treasure.

The ship’s cargo of gold, silver, gemstones, and antiques is speculatively valued at up to $20 billion.

The San José was a 64-gun, three-mast galleon launched by Spain in 1698. The galleon was part of the fleet of King Philip V when it was sunk by the Royal Navy in 1708 during the War of Spanish Succession. Now, the San Jose galleon has been declared a national mission, 315 years after a ship off the Colombian port of Cartagena tragically sank.

On board, not only were there treasures valued at approximately $20 billion in today’s currency, there were also 600 sailors, with only 11 survivors among them, reports The Daily Mail.

Eleven million gold coins are thought to have been on board. Photo: EPA
Eleven million gold coins are thought to have been on board. Photo: EPA

In December 2015, Colombia declared a team of navy divers had found the San José, footage of which found its way to the news. The well-preserved shipwreck was reportedly found in 3,100 feet of water, with much of its cargo visibly intact.

So far, gold ingots, Chinese ceramics and tableware, and the ship’s cannons, which were cast in Seville in 1655, have been discovered in the depths. Of the most interest of course is the ship’s coffers of 11 million gold coins.

President Gustavo Petro ordered his administration to exhume the “holy grail of shipwrecks” – the Spanish galleon San José – from the bottom of the Caribbean Sea as soon as possible.

Petro hopes to bring the 62-gun, three-masted ship to the surface before his term is up in 2026 and has requested a public-private partnership be formed to see it through, Minister of Culture Juan David Correa told Bloomberg last week.

However, multiple parties have laid claim to the cargo, one of whom has brought Colombia to arbitration in London.

Vanity Fair reports that a group of U.S. investors operating as Glocca Morra, later Sea Search Armada, claim to have signed a salvage contract entitling them to half the ship’s cargo in 1979. The group alleges it found the San José in 1981 at a depth of around 660 feet, and provided Colombia officials with coordinates. Colombia disputes this, claiming the shipwreck was not found at the coordinates provided.

Spain, which originally owned the vessel and its forcibly extracted cargo, is also said to have attempted to claim the bounty. Also, the Qhara Qhara indigenous group in present-day Bolivia says they should get the treasure since Spanish colonizers forced their ancestors to mine some of the precious metals they say were aboard.

Cover Photo: Colombian Armada

Related Articles

The 1,000-year-old surgical kit found in Sican tomb, Peru

28 March 2022

28 March 2022

A set of surgical tools indicating that the deceased was a surgeon was found in a funerary bundle found in...

First direct evidence of drug use as part of Bronze Age ritual ceremonies in Europe

6 April 2023

6 April 2023

An analysis of human hair strands recovered from a burial site in Menorca, Spain, reveals that ancient human civilizations used...

Archaeologists reconstructing how the Assyrian army conquered the ancient Judean city of Lachish 2700 years ago

9 November 2021

9 November 2021

Archaeologists discovered how King Sennacherib’s soldiers constructed the huge siege ramp that enabled them to defeat the Lachish city 2,700...

2500 Years of Animal Love in Termessos Ancient City

8 February 2021

8 February 2021

We are witnessing more and more of the unscrupulousness, cruelty and torture inflicted on our animal friends every day.These news...

New ancient ape from Türkiye challenges the story of human origins

2 September 2023

2 September 2023

A recently discovered fossilized ape from a site in Turkey that is 8.7 million years old is inspiring scientists to...

Army Museum Worker Discovers Early Medieval Sword While Swimming in a Polish River

19 December 2024

19 December 2024

The collection of the Army Museum in Białystok, Poland has been enriched after renovation with a unique relic of great...

Archaeologists discover rare Caanite inscription on ancient ivory comb

12 November 2022

12 November 2022

Israeli archaeologists discovered a rare inscription on an ivory comb that sheds new light on the Canaanite language’s use some...

Archaeologists Discover 8600-year-old Bread at Çatalhöyük May be the Oldest Bread in the World

5 March 2024

5 March 2024

Archaeologists have discovered about 8,600-year-old bread at Çatalhöyük, a Neolithic settlement in central Turkey. Çatalhöyük is noteworthy because it is...

A pre-Hispanic ceremonial center with unknown characteristics was discovered in the Andes

15 April 2023

15 April 2023

While investigating at Waskiri, near the Lauca River and the Bolivian-Chilean border, archaeologists found an impressive circular construction on a...

Archaeologists may have found the lost 2,000-year-old ancient city of Bassania in Albania

19 June 2022

19 June 2022

Polish archaeologists may have discovered the 2,000-year-old lost city of Bassania in Albania. The remains of two large ancient stone...

Cyprus’ Lost Terracotta Warriors: Unearthing a 2,500-Year-Old Army at Agia Eirini

23 May 2025

23 May 2025

Hidden beneath the sands of time in the tranquil Morphou Bay lies Agia Eirini (Turkish: Akdeniz), a seemingly quiet village...

Four-face ivory dice found at Keezhadi excavation site in India

18 February 2022

18 February 2022

The Tamil Nadu Archaeological department along with the Archaeological Survey of India has unearthed rectangular ivory dice,  in the excavation...

1400-Year-Old Folding Chair Found in a Woman’s Grave in Germany

30 August 2022

30 August 2022

In Steinsfeld, in the German state of Ansbach, archaeologists have unearthed a 1,400-year-old folding chair from an early medieval woman’s...

500-year-old curse tablet found in Germany

15 December 2023

15 December 2023

In the city of Rostock on Germany’s northern coast, archaeologists found a lead curse tablet invoking Satan and two other...

Viennese Archaeologists Find LEGIO XIII GEMINA Bricks

1 February 2024

1 February 2024

The fourth oldest school in Vienna, the Kindermanngasse Elementary School, is being completely renovated. As part of the renovation of...