Colombian authorities announced on Thursday the recovery of several artifacts from the legendary Spanish galleon San José, which sank in the Caribbean Sea in 1708 after an attack by an English fleet. Among the retrieved items are a cannon, three coins, and a porcelain cup, marking the first tangible findings from the historic shipwreck. The recovery is part of a government-authorized scientific investigation initiated last year to study the wreckage and determine the causes of its sinking. The galleon, located in 2015 by Colombian researchers, remains a subject of legal and diplomatic disputes, with its exact location classified as a state secret. The San José is believed to carry a treasure trove of 11 million gold and silver coins, emeralds, and other precious cargo from Spanish-controlled colonies, potentially worth billions of dollars. President Gustavo Petro’s administration emphasized that the expedition’s primary goal is research, not treasure recovery. The artifacts will undergo conservation at a specialized lab dedicated to the project. The wreckage lies 600 meters (nearly 2,000 feet) deep in the Caribbean Sea. While the prevailing theory suggests an explosion caused the ship’s sinking, the Colombian government has proposed alternative explanations, including hull damage. The San José has also sparked a legal battle involving Colombia, Spain, and the U.S.-based Sea Search Armada, which claims a $10 billion share of the treasure, alleging its discovery in 1982.
Colombian scientists recover cannon, coins and porcelain cup from 300-year-old Spanish shipwreck
