Zitat:Fundsache, Nr. 403

Schatzschiff aus Portugal

Ein vor der Küste des südwestafrikanischen Staates Namibia entdecktes Wrack ist von Archäologen als portugiesisches Segelschiff aus dem 16. Jahrhundert identifiziert worden. Das im April bei der Diamantensuche auf dem Meeresgrund entdeckte Wrack hatte mehr als 2 000 Goldmünzen sowie 1,4 Kilogramm Silbermünzen an Bord, gab die namibische Regierung am Dienstag bekannt. Bereits zuvor war bekanntgeworden, dass auch Elfenbein, Schwerter, Navigationsbesteck und Kanonen zur Fracht gehörten. Das Schiff habe sich auf dem Weg nach Asien befunden, als es sank.

Zitat:Wegweiser im Verborgenen [Artikel zur Merkliste hinzufügen]
Von Jürgen Dahlkamp
Sie zählen zu den Top-Spezialisten für die Suche nach millionenschweren oder historisch bedeutsamen Wracks: Der Brite Nigel Pickford und der Franzose Patrick Lizé spüren jene alten Karten und Akten auf, die Archäologen und Bergungsprofis zu ihren Funden führen.
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Zitat:Autor: Schulz
ARCHÄOLOGIE
"Wir trotzten den Wellen"

Unterwasserarchäologen haben im Pazifik fünf Dschunken geborgen, gefüllt mit Tonnen feinsten Porzellans. Das chinesische Riesenreich war eine maritime Großmacht: Lange vor den Europäern segelten Chinas Konquistadoren bis nach Arabien und Sansibar.

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Nun endlich sind harte Zeugnisse vom Meeresboden aufgetaucht. .....

Aufgespürt wurde die Fracht von dem französischen Meeresforscher Franck Goddio, 50, der jüngst mit seiner Entdeckung des versunkenen Kleopatra-Palastes in Alexandria Furore machte (SPIEGEL 46/1996). Nun ist dem Archäo-Schatztaucher auch auf der anderen Seite der Erdkugel ein Coup gelungen.

Gestützt auf modernste technische Ausrüstung, konnte Goddio vor der philippinischen Küste insgesamt fünf Dschunken bergen, gesunken zwischen dem 11. und 16. Jahrhundert - in jener Ära, als China mit großem Einsatz die Ozeane eroberte.
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Zitat:SCHIFFSWRACK

Schatzsucher feiern Fund der "HMS Victory"

250 Jahre war die "HMS Victory" verschollen, das einst größte Kriegsschiff der Welt. Jetzt haben amerikanische Schatzsucher das Wrack im Ärmelkanal entdeckt - und hoffen, auch die vier Tonnen Gold zu finden, die an Bord vermutet werden.

Zitat:She was wrecked with the loss of her entire crew while returning to England as the flagship of Admiral Sir John Balchen after relieving Sir Charles Hardy, who had been blockaded in the Tagus estuary by the French Brest fleet. As the fleet reached the English Channel on 3 October 1744 it was scattered by a large storm. At around 15:30 on 4 October, the ships accompanying Victory lost sight of her near the Channel Islands. She was believed to have been wrecked during the night on Black Rock just off the Casquets, with the loss of her entire complement. [...]

No trace of any of the 1,150 sailors aboard Victory was found until the wreck was discovered in 2008.

Zitat:Unterwasserorganismus entdeckt

Unbekanntes Bakterium zerfrisst "Titanic"

Seit 100 Jahren verfällt die "Titanic" auf dem Grund des Nordatlantiks - ein bisher unbekanntes Bakterium scheint dabei kräftig mitzuhelfen. Meeresbiologen haben die Mikroben jetzt auf einem Stückchen Rost des berühmten Wracks entdeckt.

London - Exotische Bakterien lauern überall. Weil sie mit bloßem Auge nicht sichtbar sind, ist es besonders schwer, neue Arten auszumachen - dabei besitzt so mancher Erreger erstaunliche Fähigkeiten.

Zitat:Galeone "San José" vor Kolumbien gefunden

Aufgespürt nach 307 Jahren [...]

Nach jahrelanger Suche haben internationale Experten ein sagenumwobenes Schiff vor der kolumbianischen Küste entdeckt. Die "San José" war vor 307 Jahren gesunken und soll einen riesigen Goldschatz mit in die Tiefe genommen haben. [...]

Laut Santos sei das Wrack am 27. November an einer Stelle gefunden worden, an der es zuvor nicht vermutet worden war. Die beteiligten Experten berichteten, sie hätten das auf der Seite liegende Wrack der "San José" aufgrund seiner einzigartigen Bronzekanonen mit eingravierten Delfinen erkannt sowie an seiner Ladung. Möglich wurde ihr Fund erst, weil das Team Winde und Strömungen erforschte, die vor 307 Jahren in der Region geherrscht hatten.

"Die Menge und die Art des Materials lassen keinen Zweifel an der Identität" des Schiffwracks, sagte Ernesto Montenegro, der Leiter des kolumbianischen Instituts für Anthropologie und Geschichte. Zuvor hatte bereits eine US-Firma den Fund der "San José" für sich beansprucht, doch dieser wurde nie bestätigt. [...]

Die "San José" war das Hauptschiff einer Flotte, die im Auftrag des spanischen Königs Philipp V. Gold, Silber und andere Wertsachen aus den Kolonien in Amerika über den Atlantik bringen sollte. Sie sank in einer Schlacht mit den Briten.

Zitat:Das Schiff sank am 10. Juni 1708 etwa 16 Seemeilen vor dem Hafen von Cartagena (Kolumbien) während der sogenannten Wager’s Action. Diese Aktion war ein Angriff von vier britischen Kriegsschiffen unter dem Kommando von Captain Charles Wager auf einen der spanischen Schatzkonvois, bestehend aus 14 Handelsseglern und drei Galeonen (neben der San José die San Joaquin und Santa Cruz).

Während des fast zehn Stunden dauernden Gefechtes wurde die San José in Brand geschossen und sank nach einer Explosion ihrer Pulverkammer. 578 Seeleute, Soldaten und Passagiere fanden dabei den Tod, nur elf Überlebende wurden später gerettet. An Bord der Galeone befanden sich 344 Tonnen Gold- und Silbermünzen sowie 116 Kisten mit Smaragden aus Peru.

Zitat:Divers explore rare 400-year-old ship

Technical divers have found another well-preserved – and very rare – Dutch-style merchant sailing ship in the Baltic Sea’s Gulf of Finland – and this one could be as much as 400 years old. [...] The wreck also lies deeper, at 85m, and appears to be even older, from the early 17th century. The Baltic Sea is one of the few places in the world where timber shipwrecks can survive for centuries, because of the protection offered by a combination of low salinity, absolute darkness and very low water temperatures year-round. [...] Instead the divers were able to identify the largely intact wreck as a fluyt, a narrow type of three-masted cargo ship designed in the Netherlands. Fluyts were unusual in that they were unarmed and had an advanced rigging system that allowed them to be operated by small crews. [...]

The divers found the wreck resting upright with most of its rigging scattered around, although a trawl-net appeared to have dislocated the stem, damaging the poop-deck and the top part of the transom.

Zitat:Nazi shipwreck found off Poland may solve Amber Room mystery

Polish divers say they have found the wreck of a German second world war ship that may help solve a decades-old mystery about the whereabouts of the Amber Room, an ornate chamber that the Nazis looted from a tsarist palace in Russia. [...] The Karlsruhe steamer set sail from Königsberg in 1945 with a heavy cargo before Soviet warplanes sank it off the coast of Poland. Divers from the Baltictech group say they have found the wreck of the Karlsruhe.

“We have been looking for the wreckage since last year when we realised there could be the most interesting, undiscovered story lying at the bottom of the Baltic Sea,” Tomasz Stachura, one of the divers, said in a statement. [...] Documentation from the time suggests the vessel left Königsberg in a hurry with a large cargo and 1,083 people on board.

“All this, put together, stimulates the human imagination. Finding the German steamer and the crates with contents as yet unknown resting on the bottom of the Baltic Sea may be significant for the whole story,” said Tomasz Zwara, another of the divers. The Amber Room was constructed in Prussia and then given to Peter the Great of Russia as a present in 1716.

Zitat:Colombia shares unprecedented images of treasure-laden wreck

Bogota (AFP) – Colombia's army has shared unprecedented images of the legendary San Jose galleon shipwreck, hidden underwater for three centuries and believed to have been carrying riches worth billions of dollars in today's money.

Four observation missions using a remotely operated vehicle were sent to the wreck at a depth of almost 950 meters (3,100 feet) off Colombia's Caribbean coast, the army said in a statement late Monday. [...] Cannons partially covered by mud are visible alongside porcelain crockery, pottery, glass bottles and also gold pieces.

A part of the bow can be clearly seen covered in algae and shellfish, as well as the remains of the frame of the hull. Authorities said they had also discovered two more shipwrecks during their observation mission -- a colonial-era galleon and a schooner from the post-colonial period. [...] Before its discovery in 2015, it was long sought after by treasure hunters. Experts believe it contains at least 200 tons of gold, silver and emeralds.

Zitat:Überraschungsfund: 400 Jahre altes Schiffswrack vor Lübeck entdeckt

Bei Vermessungsarbeiten in der Travemündung vor Lübeck ist ein rund 400 Jahre altes Wrack eines Frachtseglers entdeckt worden. Die Überreste des etwa 20 Meter langen Holzrumpfs lägen mitsamt der Ladung in elf Metern Wassertiefe und stellten einen bedeutenden archäologischen Fund dar, teilten die Stadt Lübeck und ihre Denkmalschützer mit. Es ist demnach die erste derartige Entdeckung in der westlichen Ostseeregion.

Die Stadtverwaltung und ihr Archäologenteam erhoffen sich durch die Bergung und Untersuchung des nach derzeitigem Kenntnisstand aus dem 17. Jahrhundert stammenden Handelsschiffs nach eigenen Angaben wertvolle Erkenntnisse zur Geschichte Lübecks und den historischen Handelsbeziehungen der Stadt innerhalb des Städtebunds der Hanse. Das Wrack soll vom Grund der Trave gehoben und dann in einem mehrjährigen Verfahren konserviert werden.

Zitat:Legendary Spanish galleon shipwreck discovered on Oregon coast

In 1693, a ship carrying silk and beeswax from the Philippines to Mexico mysteriously vanished. Now a risky mission has recovered its timbers—solving a 300-year-old puzzle. [...] The extraordinarily rare hull remains were removed from sea caves near Manzanita earlier this week in a risky emergency recovery mission involving archaeologists, law enforcement personnel, and search-and-rescue teams from multiple state and local agencies.

“I’m impressed and relieved,” says Scott Williams, an archaeologist with the Washington State Department of Transportation and president of the Maritime Archaeology Society (MAS), an all-volunteer group that spearheaded a 15-year search for the shipwreck. The dozen timbers are believed to be pieces of the Santo Cristo de Burgos, a Spanish galleon that was sailing from the Philippines to Mexico in 1693 when it veered off course and vanished, most likely wrecking on what’s now Oregon’s coast. Its cargo included costly Chinese silk, porcelain, and blocks of beeswax for making candles. [...]

Spanish galleons began sailing between the Philippines and Mexico in 1565 and traded goods for 250 years. The Santo Cristo de Burgos disappeared after leaving the Philippines in 1693. The shipwreck location has been confirmed hundreds of miles from the traditional galleon route. [...] Despite their 250-year run—and the inevitable loss of wooden vessels crossing the hazardous Pacific—remarkably few Manila galleon shipwrecks have been found. Only three are known from the west coast of the Americas—with one each in Oregon, California, and Baja Mexico—and no surviving hull remains have been discovered until now. [...]

The Santo Cristo is better known along the Oregon coast as the legendary “Beeswax Wreck”—a moniker derived from distinctive blocks of beeswax that washed ashore for centuries and were traded by local Native American tribes and later Anglo-European settlers. Because honeybees are not native to the Americas—they were imported from Europe in the 17th century—Asian beeswax was a major import for Spain’s colonies, where beeswax candles were required for Catholic services. [...]

And oral histories from the area’s Indigenous tribes tell of a foreign ship that wrecked long ago, with a crew that came ashore and met varying fates.

Zitat:Hoard of priceless treasures recovered from 350-year-old Spanish shipwreck

Stories of buried treasure and ancient shipwrecks have captivated for centuries, from pirate tales to Hollywood blockbusters. For one team of explorers, however, legend became reality when they uncovered a trove of artifacts from a 350-year-old sunken Spanish galleon -- including coins, gemstones and priceless jewels once belonging to seafaring knights.

The Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas (or Our Lady of Wonders) sank in 1656 after it collided with another boat from its fleet and crashed into a coral reef off the Bahamas. The vessel was carrying a haul of treasure, some of which was reserved as royal tax for King Philip IV, from Cuba to Seville, Spain. The 891-ton ship contained more cargo than usual, as it had also been tasked with transporting treasure retrieved from another ship that had sunk two years earlier. [...]

Among the discoveries was a 1.76-meter-long gold filigree chain and several bejeweled pendants that once belonged to knights of the Order of Santiago, a centuries-old religious and military order. One of the gold pendants features a large oval Colombian emerald and a dozen smaller emeralds, which experts believe may represent the 12 apostles, alongside the Cross of St. James. Three other knightly pendants were also discovered, including one shaped to look like a golden scallop shell. [...]

Other recovered artifacts shine a light on daily life on the Maravillas, which sailed during the "Spainish Golden Age," including Chinese porcelain and olive jars, as well as a silver sword handle. Some of the galleon's valuable contents may also have been contraband for the purpose of "illegally greasing the palms of Spanish merchants and officials," Allen said.

Zitat:Stunning discovery of 1,200-year-old shipwreck contradicts history books

An ancient shipwreck was found off the coast of Israel with artifacts from all over the Mediterranean, contradicting a major archaeological theory.

Zitat:Exclusive: Wreck of fabled WWI German U-boat found off Virginia

U-111 is the last known enemy submarine wreck from WWI in waters off the U.S. eastern seaboard—and never should have been found. [...] This past Labour Day, as beachgoers up and down the eastern seaboard of the U.S. enjoyed a sunny holiday at the shore, Erik Petkovic was in the darkened cabin of R/V Explorer some 40 miles off the Virginia coast. Peering into a video monitor linked to a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) some 400 feet below, he suddenly exclaimed, “That’s it! There it is!”

The object that caused his excitement was the wreckage of SM U-111, the last World War I-era German submarine to be discovered in U.S. waters. [...]

Navy records indicated that U-111 sank off Virginia on August 31, 1922, in 1,600 feet of water—far beyond the limit of any human diver. But years of research led Petkovic to a different conclusion—and a historic discovery for the team of R/V Explorer. [...] Commissioned by the German Imperial Navy in 1917, the 235-foot U-111 patrolled the waters of the North Atlantic, sinking three Allied merchant ships before the Kaiser’s surrender in November 1918.