Who wouldn’t want to stumble across a treasure?  It’s like asking someone if they want to win the lottery, of course they do.  But there is something truly fascinating about finding a treasure that has been long lost, regardless of the fortunes the treasure could bring.  Being able to reclaim a piece of history and have an Indiana Jones inspired adventure along the way makes it all the more spectacular.  Archeologists and historians have been uncovering treasures from lost civilizations all over the world that can date back to 10,000 BC.  Finding these treasures is no easy undertaking.  But perhaps some of the greatest treasures to uncover are those that have been lost to the bottom of the oceans.

We have yet to discover the full wonders that our earth’s oceans hold.  We know that there are countless shipwrecks to be found on the ocean floors.  UNESCO, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, believes that there could be 3 million shipwrecks scattered in the ocean depths holding trillions of dollars in lost treasure.  But with inaccurately kept records, the constant movement of ocean currents, and stories forgotten over generations, finding these mysterious shipwrecks is a rarity.  Which makes the discovery of a Spanish ship lost more than 300 years ago truly amazing.

The discovery of the shipwreck was made by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.  WHOI is an independent non-profit organization that specializes in oceanic research, exploration, and education.  They were exploring the Caribbean Ocean with the help of an underwater drone.  The drone was programed to scan the ocean floor with long range sonar.  If the drone picked up anything unusual with the sonar it would go back to that location to take pictures.  One of the research engineers on the mission, Jeff Kaeli, was alone at the time when the drone transmitted images taken 2,000 feet below the ocean surface.

The drone Jeff was monitoring is called the Remus 6000, the same drone that was used to locate wreckage from Air France Flight 447 after it crashed off the coast of Brazil in 2009.  The Remus 6000, designed and operated by WHOI, is a bright yellow, 12 foot long, 1,900lbs submersible drone that can operate in depths ranging up to 19,685 feet (3.7 miles).  The drone uses a brushless motor along with a 2-blade propeller and a 11 kWh rechargeable Li-ion battery pack.  This allows the Remus 6000 to operate up to 5 knots for 22 hours.  According to the description on WHOI’s website, “This efficient AUV can be used for numerous exploration and mapping purposes, including hydrographic surveys, environmental monitoring, debris field mapping, search and salvage operations, and scientific sampling and mapping.  The vehicles use acoustic navigation to independently survey an area, while sensors sample and record data. After data from a large-scale survey is analyzed and smaller fields of interest are identified, the REMUS 6000 can gather more detailed, up-close images using high-resolution imaging systems located on the bottom of the vehicle.”

After the Remus 6000 relayed the images from the bottom of the ocean floor Jeff said, “I just sat there for about 10 minutes and smiled.  I’m not a marine archaeologist, but I know what a cannon looks like. So in that moment, I guess I was the only person in the world who knew we’d found the shipwreck.”  The cannons Jeff was looking at were engraved with dolphins, a clear sign that these cannons were from the Spanish galleon San Jose that had been sunk by British warships in 1701.  Along with the San Jose’s 600 member crew lost in the Caribbean is an estimated $17 billion in lost treasure.

There is still a lot of secrecy as to the location of the San Jose as there is a dispute over who should claim ownership over the treasure, Columbia or Spain.  Though it was discovered by an American organization based out of Massachusetts, the WHOI is clear that as explorers and educators they will stake no ownership claims on what has been called the Holy Grail of shipwrecks.  Jeff said, “Everyone is focused on the treasure aspect.  The whole thing is a cultural treasure. It’s a piece of history that’s sitting on the sea floor that tells a story.”  It goes to prove that there is so much of this world left undiscovered and that with the help of ever growing technology like drones, more discoveries could soon be made.

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