Colombia

Video Shows Centuries-Old Sunken Shipwreck Near Colombia Laden With Treasures

The San José galleon was a 62-gun, three-mast galleon that went down on June 8, 1708, along with 600 people on board

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A new video released by the National Navy of Colombia shows artifacts of gold coins and other treasures scattered around the San José galleon that sunk to the bottom of the Caribbean off the coast of Colombia more than 300 years ago.

The San José galleon was a 62-gun, three-mast galleon that went down on June 8, 1708, along with 600 people on board. Sunk by the British during the war of the Spanish Succession, it carried a treasure of gold, silver and emeralds.

According to maritime experts, the San José is known to be the "holy grail of shipwrecks" and was long considered one of history's enduring maritime mysteries.

Various items were found near the galleon such as gold coins, cannons made in Seville in 1655 and bottles on the bottom of the sea.

Colombia President Iván Duque also announced the discovery of two additional ships — a colonial boat and a schooner thought to be from around the same time period as Colombia's war for independence from Spain, about 200 ago.

President Duque also mentioned that there happens to be a dozen of similar ships that are yet to be located by the National Navy of Colombia.

To learn more about other shipwrecks like the San José galleon, click here.

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