piratediver
Sr. Member
This email is from SUBARCH and is posted by one of the most hard line anti-TH in the world!
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2009 6:21 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Wanna find a Spanish treasure ship?
Dear all
I was going to go on another rant against the TH when decided to stop and have
a little bit of fun, instead.
Remember how all TH's use to say that deep down beneath the soul of an
archaeologist is a TH struggling to get out? Well, here's your chance to be
one and go after a ship with goodies inside (or, if you're a salvor/TH at
heart, here's your chance to prove that you are worth your salt and can find
those gold doubloons before your investor runs out of patience).
Ever since I have done the assessment of the Azores Islands on terms of it's
potential in wrecks, I have collected, here and there, documents related to
one of the Spanish Treasure fleets that went through there – in time, it
become something of a pet project. And for a good reason: not only the story
of this fleet reads like a good swashbuckling novel but also one of it's
wrecks might be an archaeologist's dream - a never before studied type of
ship, a wreck site never salvaged (albeit one that left a very well documented
paper trail) and, finally, a wreck that was lost in -5 to -20 meters of depth,
on a deep sandy bottom, on which it is very likely buried.
Our target is a 1580's seagoing large patacho, of around 400 tons, carrying
around 22 tons of bullion. In the Azores, it fled Lord Cumberland English
pirates, then it was discharged and again charged with silver and gold
bullion. When it left harbor in the company of 2 other ships, for it's last
leg before mainland, Spain, it encountered a storm that caused the admiral
ship to slowly sink - in fact, the capitania sunk so slowly that they had time
to pass all the papers, the people and the silver from the sinking ship to our
target.
Then, they got lost in storm and just when they thought they were abeam
Larache, Morocco, they found themselves off the coast of Portugal.
What ensued is extensively documented in the Spanish archives. I have
transcribed eyewitness accounts of the wreck (ranging from people ashore to an
account from a passenger in ship, one of the 110 survivors), a list of the
cargo aboard, a list of the salvaged flotsam and I also have maps of the area,
both past and present.
So… wanna have fun? I’ll post the original documents, their transcription – as
well as translations for the Spanish impaired – the maps, photos of the area
so that we can, together, try to find it’s probable location. I already have
my hunch, but I am guessing that, the more, the merrier. Who knows, maybe
we’ll do a survey on the area, find it and do the first archaeological
excavation of a treasure ship (or maybe we will leave it as it is, in situ…
So, what do you think? Shall I spend some of my already busy time having fun
sharing this?
Let me know, on or off list.
Disclaimers and warnings
This is a ship sunk in the Portuguese territorial waters but it is still owned
by the Spanish Crown (both countries have signed the UNESCO Convention). If
found, it’s remains will be studied, according to the principles of
archaeological best practice.
The Spanish Navy Cultural branch has been informally made aware of this
research.
The Portuguese Navy has the general area under surveillance, in order to
detect and intercept any survey or diving activities.
Pirate Diver
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2009 6:21 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Wanna find a Spanish treasure ship?
Dear all
I was going to go on another rant against the TH when decided to stop and have
a little bit of fun, instead.
Remember how all TH's use to say that deep down beneath the soul of an
archaeologist is a TH struggling to get out? Well, here's your chance to be
one and go after a ship with goodies inside (or, if you're a salvor/TH at
heart, here's your chance to prove that you are worth your salt and can find
those gold doubloons before your investor runs out of patience).
Ever since I have done the assessment of the Azores Islands on terms of it's
potential in wrecks, I have collected, here and there, documents related to
one of the Spanish Treasure fleets that went through there – in time, it
become something of a pet project. And for a good reason: not only the story
of this fleet reads like a good swashbuckling novel but also one of it's
wrecks might be an archaeologist's dream - a never before studied type of
ship, a wreck site never salvaged (albeit one that left a very well documented
paper trail) and, finally, a wreck that was lost in -5 to -20 meters of depth,
on a deep sandy bottom, on which it is very likely buried.
Our target is a 1580's seagoing large patacho, of around 400 tons, carrying
around 22 tons of bullion. In the Azores, it fled Lord Cumberland English
pirates, then it was discharged and again charged with silver and gold
bullion. When it left harbor in the company of 2 other ships, for it's last
leg before mainland, Spain, it encountered a storm that caused the admiral
ship to slowly sink - in fact, the capitania sunk so slowly that they had time
to pass all the papers, the people and the silver from the sinking ship to our
target.
Then, they got lost in storm and just when they thought they were abeam
Larache, Morocco, they found themselves off the coast of Portugal.
What ensued is extensively documented in the Spanish archives. I have
transcribed eyewitness accounts of the wreck (ranging from people ashore to an
account from a passenger in ship, one of the 110 survivors), a list of the
cargo aboard, a list of the salvaged flotsam and I also have maps of the area,
both past and present.
So… wanna have fun? I’ll post the original documents, their transcription – as
well as translations for the Spanish impaired – the maps, photos of the area
so that we can, together, try to find it’s probable location. I already have
my hunch, but I am guessing that, the more, the merrier. Who knows, maybe
we’ll do a survey on the area, find it and do the first archaeological
excavation of a treasure ship (or maybe we will leave it as it is, in situ…
So, what do you think? Shall I spend some of my already busy time having fun
sharing this?
Let me know, on or off list.
Disclaimers and warnings
This is a ship sunk in the Portuguese territorial waters but it is still owned
by the Spanish Crown (both countries have signed the UNESCO Convention). If
found, it’s remains will be studied, according to the principles of
archaeological best practice.
The Spanish Navy Cultural branch has been informally made aware of this
research.
The Portuguese Navy has the general area under surveillance, in order to
detect and intercept any survey or diving activities.
Pirate Diver
