Transcript Slide 1

Great Treasures
of History
Sunken Treasure
• Some organizations estimate that there
may be as many as three million
shipwrecks scattered across the world’s
oceans.
• Some of these lost treasures could be
worth hundreds of millions of dollars,
maybe even more!
Sunken Treasure
• Searching for sunken treasure is an
expensive undertaking, and it is not
without risk….
• Treasure from shipwrecks often belongs to
the government where it originated.
Did You Know?
• The major sunken-treasure areas are the Gulf of Mexico,
the western Caribbean, and the waters off the Florida
Keys, the Bahamas, Bermuda, and the Azores.
• Professional treasure hunters spend months or years in
research to discover a wreck’s location and cargo value.
• Today, divers have technology on their side—ROVs,
submarines, scuba gear, metal detectors, radar, etc.—
but in ancient and medieval times, people had to skin
dive with weighted diving bells.
• In 1687 William Phips, an American shipping merchant,
recovered treasure worth about $1,000,000 from a
sunken Spanish galleon in this way.
• The development of diving suits in the 19th century and
of scuba equipment in the 20th century greatly increased
the extent of underwater treasure hunting.
The Titanic
• Found south of Newfoundland in 1985, by a team
of French & American explorers using an
unmanned submarine
• Some of its artifacts are being sold, valued at over
$189 million.
• UNESCO convention holds that taking artifacts
from the site is unethical, and they want to
preserve it as an underwater cultural heritage site.
• What do you think?
Treasure of Antikythera
• Ancient shipwreck discovered in the year 1900
off the island of Antikythera, near Greece
• Most of the cargo was recovered during a
1976 expedition.
• Treasure included artifacts, coins and jewelry
• Famous “Statue of a Youth” from 340-330 B.C.
• Valued at $120-160 million
Tucker’s Cross
• Discovered by famous marine explorer
Teddy Tucker in 1955
• The 22 karat gold cross is studded with
emeralds.
• Valued at $250,000
• Stolen in 1975
Padre Island Shipwrecks
• In 1554, a fleet of Spanish galleons set sail from
Veracruz for Spain loaded with the plunder of
the conquistadors. It was said to be the richest
treasure fleet that ever sailed.
• When a storm scattered the fleet, several
galleons went down. Three ships - the Santa
Maria de Yciar, San Estebán, and Espíritu Santo
- wrecked on Padre Island.
• Early efforts at recovery
• More treasure salvaged in 1967
The Whydah Gally
• One of only a very few pirate ships that have
ever been found, the Whydah was the flagship
of pirate captain “Black Sam” Bellamy.
• Discovered in 1984 near Cape Cod,
Massachusetts by Barry Clifford
• Over 200,000 artifacts
including cannons, coins,
gold jewelry, and more
• Estimated value is $400 million
• Its treasures are still being
recovered to this day.
The Atocha Motherlode
• The Nuestra Señora de Atocha was a
Spanish treasure vessel that sank during a
storm in 1622.
• Found in 1985 in the Florida Keys by
treasure hunter Mel Fisher
• Value is estimated at $450 million, and the
ship is still being explored
Santa Margarita
• Part of the same fleet as the Atocha
• First discovered in 1980
• Still being uncovered
The Ship of Gold
• In 1857, the S.S. Central America was
transporting gold from Panama to New York City,
when it encountered a hurricane and sank,
carrying 15 tons of gold.
• Discovered in 1987 by a group from Ohio, led by
Tommy Thompson
• Thirty-nine different insurance companies
claimed they had a right to the treasure because
of damages paid in the 19th century. In the end,
the discovery team ending up with 92 % of the
treasure.
• Valued at $100-150 million
San José Galleon
• Part of a Spanish fleet that sailed
from Portobelo to Cartagena in 1708
• It sank somewhere off the coast of
Columbia, carrying between four and
seventeen billion dollars worth of treasure.
• It may have been found by a private
salvage firm in 1981.
• A major legal battle subsequently
prevented the recovery of the treasure.
HL Hunley
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A Civil War submarine
Originally found by E. Lee Spence in 1970
Officially verified and explored in 1995
Spence donated his portion of the findings
(valued at $40 million)
to the state of
South Carolina.
SS Islander
• A luxurious steamship designed for the Inside
Passage between Alaska and Canada
• Built in 1888
• Shipwrecked in 1901, carrying anywhere
between $18 and $260 million in gold bullion
• Numerous salvage attempts
• Raising the SS Islander
• Legal battle
• The next expedition
Queen Anne’s Revenge
• Blackbeard’s flagship
• Discovered in 1996 by a private research
company
• Found in shallow water off the coast of
North Carolina
• Numerous artifacts and
cannons have been recovered.
• It is still being excavated
to this day.
Belitung Shipwreck
• Found by fishermen off the coast of Indonesia in 1998
• The 1st Arabian ship to be discovered and excavated
• A rich assortment of early 9th century Tang Dynasty
artifacts and treasures, including gold, silver, pearls,
rubies and sapphires
• Purchased by government of Singapore
Chiemsee Cauldron
• Discovered by local divers in 2001
• In Lake Chiemsee in Bavaria (part of Germany)
• Made by Otto Gahr, a well-known jeweler and
Nazi Party member
• Nicknamed “Hitler’s Bedpan”
Java Treasure Trove
• Found in Indonesia in 2004
• Contains 14,000 pearls, 4,000 rubies, 400 dark
red sapphires, and more than 2,200 garnets, as
well as artifacts from more than 1,000 years ago
• Treasure hunter Luc Heymans agreed to share
the find with the Indonesian government 50-50%.
• But there is no policy regarding the collection and
export of artifacts, so the treasure sat in a
warehouse for years…
• The government tried to sell the treasure at an
auction in 2010, but the auction was a failure.
The Quedagh Merchant
• An Armenian trading vessel captured by
Captain Kidd in 1698
• Found in 2007 in shallow waters off the
Dominican Republic
The Bom Jesus
• This Portuguese ship sailed in 1533 and
disappeared off the coast of West Africa.
• Found in Namibia in 2008 by a major diamond
mining operation
• The ship was found buried in the sand.
• Treasure includes more than 22 tons of copper
ingots, cannons, swords, ivory and gold
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/10/shipwreck/toensing-photography
The Salcombe Wreck
• Found near the coast of Devon, England
in 2009 by amateur archaeologists
• Artifacts date back to 1200-900 B.C.
• So far, over 300 artifacts have been found,
including copper and tin, weapons, and
several pieces of jewelry.
Odyssey Marine Exploration
• Deep-water archaeology and shipwreck
salvage company, based in Tampa, FL
• Founded by Greg Stemm in 1990’s
Searching for Sunken Treasure
• Research original documents
– Cargo manifests
– Passenger lists
– Navigation routes
– Anticipate issues with ownership
Searching for Sunken Treasure
• Locate a shipwreck
– Side-scan sonar
– Magnetometer
– ROV
Odyssey Explorer
ROV Technology
Searching for Sunken Treasure
• Nondisturbance survey
– Record & document everything
– Create a map of the site
• Collect a few small items to establish a
claim to the site
• Collect artifacts, under the guidance of an
archaeologist
• Stabilize & transport artifacts
• Conservation process
Buen Jesús y Nuestra Señora
del Rosario
• Part of a fleet of ships sailing from the New World back
to Spain, laden with colonial treasures, when they were
struck by a powerful hurricane off the Florida Keys
• The treasure includes silver, gold, and 6,000 pearls.
• First discovered in 1965 when shrimp fishermen pulled
up pottery and other artifacts in their deepwater nets, but
at a depth of 1300 ft below the surface, recovery wasn't
feasible at the time
• Later, from 1990-1991, Odyssey was able to recover the
treasure using an ROV.
• Nicknamed the “Tortugas” project, it was among the first
deep-sea ROV shipwreck recoveries in history.
S.S. Republic
• The S.S. Republic was a US steamship lost during
a hurricane in 1865 off the coast of Georgia.
• Discovered in 2003 by Odyssey Marine Exploration
• Treasure consists of more than 50,000 gold and
silver coins, along with almost 14,000 artifacts
• Lawsuit contesting Odyssey’s ownership
• Estimates range from $75-180 million
Blue China
• During its search for the SS Republic in 2003, Odyssey
located this shipwreck off the coast of Florida.
• It was named "Blue China” because of the large amount of
blue ceramics found at the site.
• Thought to be an American trading vessel from before the
Civil War
• Later examination of the site revealed damaged from trawl
nets being dragged across the ocean floor, displacing and
smashing artifacts.
• Rescue mission to recover as many intact artifacts as
possible
• Over 400 individual artifacts were recovered.
• Some of the pieces are on display in Odyssey’s traveling
exhibit “SHIPWRECK! Pirates & Treasure.”
RMS Laconia
• Found off the coast of Ireland in 2009 by
Odyssey Marine Exploration
• Britain claims ownership
• An ocean liner used during WWI to
transport silver from Mexico and South
America
• Hit by a German
torpedo in 1917,
while returning from
the US to England
S.S. Gairsoppa
• The S.S. Gairsoppa sunk in 1941 after being
torpedoed by a German U-boat.
• In 2010, Odyssey Marine Exploration won an
exclusive salvage contract from the UK.
• The ship was discovered in 2011 in the North Atlantic.
• Retrieved from a record depth of 3 miles below the
surface
• The ship carried 7 million oz.
of silver, worth £600,000
at the time.
• Its value is now estimated at
$200 million.
S.S. Mantola
• A British steam ship bound for Calcutta, India
carrying 600,000 oz. of silver
• It was sunk by a German torpedo in 1917.
• The shipwreck was discovered near
the Gairsoppa site.
• Exclusive salvage rights were granted to
Odyssey in 2011.
HMS Victory
• A famous British warship sunk by a violent
storm in 1744
• Discovered in the English Channel by
Odyssey Marine Exploration in 2008
• Thought to contain 4 tons of gold coins
HMS Sussex
• A large English warship lost in a severe storm off the
coast of Gibraltar in 1694
• Thought to be carrying a substantial amount of treasure
• Possibly found by Odyssey in 2001
• 2002 agreement with UK government
• Currently excavating the site, trying to determine if it is,
in fact, the HMS Sussex
• Project interrupted by Spanish diplomatic relations
The Black Swan
• Discovered in 2007
by Odyssey Marine Exploration
• Treasure includes over
500,000 silver coins
• Its value is estimated at $500 million.
• Ownership of the treasure was hotly contested.
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In the end, it was decided that
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the treasure should be turned
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over to Spain.
Treasure Hunting Today
• A Florida treasure-hunting family found an
estimated $300,000 worth of gold coins and
chains off the coast of Florida over Labor Day
weekend in 2013.
• Rick Schmitt and his family uncovered the
treasure 150 yards offshore.
• The treasure comes from the wreckage of a
convoy of 11 ships that were destroyed in a
hurricane off the coast of Florida in 1715 while
en route from Havana to Spain.
• According to the ships' manifests, $400 million
worth of treasure was on board and so far only
$175 million has been found.
Treasure Hunting Today
• The Schmitt family is sponsored by Brent
Brisben, who owns the company that bought the
rights to the wreck site from legendary treasure
hunter Mel Fisher in 2010.
• In accordance with U.S. and Florida law, the
state of Florida may possess up to 20% of the
find to put on display in a state-run museum.
The remainder of the gold will be split evenly
between Brisben's company and the Schmitt
family.
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http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/09/03/family-finds-300000-goldtreasure-off-coast-florida/
Treasure Hunting Ethics
• Are there sacred treasure sites that should
not be disturbed?
• How do you determine the value of a
treasure?
– Monetary worth
– Historical / cultural significance
• Who should the treasure belong to?