Additional Coverage:
- This shipwreck’s gold, silver, and emeralds helped spawn a golden age of piracy in the Bahamas and excavators keep finding more treasure (newsbreak.com)
### Renowned Shipwreck Treasure Found
*Photo credit: Sean Kingsley/AllenX*
One of the most storied maritime treasure sites, the Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas, thought to be almost thoroughly scavenged, has revealed a wealth of new artifacts in recent underwater explorations.
Envision a shipwreck brimming with silver coins, jewels, and other precious items—it might conjure images of the Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas. This vessel sank 368 years ago near the Bahamas, and over the centuries, it was plundered by pirates and treasure hunters.
They extracted silver pesos, stunning emeralds, weapons, and other valuables, leading experts to believe that almost nothing remained. However, since 2019, thousands of artifacts have been uncovered, offering new insights into the island nation’s history and its piracy-influenced past.
It turns out there’s potentially much more to discover and what remains could be worth millions.
*Photo credit: Chad Bagwell*
The Bahamian government granted multimillionaire Carl Allen and his company, AllenX, the rights to explore and salvage the remains of the Maravillas in 2019. Since then, AllenX has discovered more than 10,000 artifacts, including gold chains, silver bars, and emeralds. Working alongside archaeologists like Michael Pateman, director of the Bahamas Maritime Museum, the finds have been meticulously documented.
Everyday artifacts such as olive jars, pipes, and wine bottles hold significant value for archaeologists, revealing insights into the lives of those aboard the ship.
Allen founded the Bahamas Maritime Museum to house these treasures, with no current plans to sell them. The finds are shared between Allen’s company and the Bahamian government.
Interestingly, the wreck’s artifacts are scattered across nearly two miles of ocean floor, many buried deep in the sand and requiring magnetometers for detection. Jim Sinclair of AllenX mentioned in a 2023 CBS News interview that as much as $100 million worth of artifacts might still be buried.
*Photo credit: Sean Kingsley/AllenX*
Before its fateful voyage, the Maravillas took on large amounts of gold and silver from another ship and also made undocumented stops, complicating efforts to know exactly what went down with it. Hurricanes, pirates, and poor record-keeping mean the full extent of its cargo may never be known.
Researchers have identified 176 shipwrecks in Bahamian waters between 1526 and 1976, due mostly to reefs and storms. Though many carried standard goods like coal and coffee, unlike the Maravillas.
AllenX also mapped out known wrecks, identifying 19 but acknowledging that dozens more await discovery. However, modern treasure hunting faces scrutiny; Bahamian politician Jomo Campbell criticized the licensing of entities like AllenX, suggesting they should not have permits to explore and recover items from multiple wrecks.
*Photo credit: AllenX*
An accident in January 1656 caused the Maravillas to collide with another ship and crash into a reef. Storms later made rescue efforts treacherous.
Over 600 people perished with only 45 survivors. Almost immediately, groups began salvaging silver from the relatively shallow 30-foot-deep waters where the ship sank, causing a surge in piracy and turning Nassau into the infamous “Pirate Republic.”
Efforts to recover silver continued sporadically over centuries. In 1972, Robert Marx’s discovery brought attention back to the ship, even though his methods drew criticism.
Another treasure hunter, Herbert Humphreys Jr., claimed significant finds in the 1980s. In response to extensive looting, the Bahamian government restricted salvaging until regulatory amendments in 2012 allowed AllenX to receive exploration and recovery licenses.
*Photo credit: Brendan Chavez/AllenX*
Today, recovered artifacts are split evenly between treasure hunters and the government, a shift from the previous 75-25 split in favor of the finders.
Read the full article on Business Insider.