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Two unknown sea wrecks, discovered recently near the famous Spanish galleon, are laden with gold worth $17 billion, Newsweek reported on June 9.
The 62-gun San Jose was a three-masted galleon and was sunk by the British, with 600 people on board, in 1708 in the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714). It was discovered in 2015 and is laden with gold and valuables, now estimated to be around billions of dollars.
The Colombian government recently obtained footage that shows high-tech equipment being lowered to the seafloor, where a cannon can be seen on the seabed. Apart from this, other artifacts, including various clay pots, can also be seen strewn on the sand.
Also, the bow of one of the vessels appears to be remarkably well-preserved, despite marine life's attempt to take over. Images captured by a remote-controlled vehicle show how the vessel appears to be sitting on the seafloor, having not been swallowed up by the sand yet.
A closer look near the cannons shows handfuls of gold coins lying on the sand, while another image shows a large number of artifacts including teacups and other artifacts lying on the seafloor, waiting to be investigated.
The Colombian authorities have confirmed that the two vessels appear to be a colonial boat and a schooner belonging to the same period when Colombia declared its independence from Spain in 1810, added the report.
Colombian President Ivan Duque had made the announcement of the dual find and said that the two vessels were found near the wreck of the San José, which was sunk off the port city of Cartagena de Indias in Colombia, in the 18th century by the British.
The San Jose shipwreck has been called a holy grail of shipwrecks as it was carrying one of the greatest quantities of valuables ever lost at sea.
"We have already found two additional vessels: one vessel that is from the colonial period and another that, from the point of view of preliminary analysis, corresponds to the Republican period of our history," Newsweek quoted Colombian President Ivan Duque's statement.
Duque also said that the Colombian Navy is investigating the possible locations of approximately 12 other vessels in the area.
Explaining more, Duque said they have now the equipment which can reach the depths and have the best images while protecting the integrity of the treasure until can be recovered from the seafloor.
"Under the guidelines of the Presidency of the Republic during the last two years, the Colombian Navy and the General Maritime Directorate, in a non-intrusive observation work carried out at the site where the Galleon San José rests, has verified that it has not suffered intervention or alterations by human action," the daily quoted Colombian Armed Command statement.
Adding more, the statement said, "This work has been validated by members of the Shipwrecked Antiquities Commission and the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History, ICANH, entities attached to the Ministry of Culture."
Artifacts discovered at the San Jose shipwreck also include intact crockery from the period bearing the galleon's insignia and the cannon -- made in Seville and Cadiz in Spain in 1655, and coins called "macuquinas," which were minted by hand at the time, a gold ingot and the crew's swords.