10:05 AM
The government of Colombia declared this Wednesday as “protected archaeological area” the area where the Spanish galleon San José liessunk more than three centuries ago in the Caribbean Sea with a treasure whose value has been cataloged as incalculable.
To know more: What does the Quimbaya treasure have that Colombia claims from Spain?
“It is the first time that an area of archaeological heritage submerged at such a depth has been declared.“It is historic in Latin America,” said the Minister of Culture, Juan David Correa, when announcing the decision during the presentation of the first “non-intrusive” stage of a scientific expedition to the wreck, that is, to the sunken artifact.
under the name “Towards the heart of the San José galleon”, the mission commanded by the Ministries of Defense and Cultures, the Navy and the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History (Icanh) will investigate and evaluate the remains found in 2015.
The Saint Joseph shipwrecked in waters near Cartagena (north) in June 1708, when it was ambushed and shot down by an English squadron. He had sailed from Portobelo, in Panama, full of vessels, jewels, precious stones, gold, silver and cannons, with an estimated value in billions of dollars.
Its declaration as an archaeological zoneguarantees the protection of heritage through its long-term preservation and the development of research, conservation and assessment activities,” the Ministry of Culture said in a statement.
You may be interested in: To have or not to have children? An economic decision that weighs more and more in Colombia
“An archaeological wreck is delimited (…) It begins to be protected as such, not as a treasure. This is not a treasure“We don’t give him that treatment,” Correa told reporters.
It is “the first protected archaeological area in maritime environments” and one of the few in the world in waters 600 meters deepdistance at which the wreck lies, according to his portfolio.
Colombia now had declared San José as an asset of cultural interest in 2022which defined its conservation for scientific and historical purposes, but not commercial ones.
Since it was located, The galleon has been the subject of disputes due to the high value of the objects on board.
Spain claimed the shipment based on a UNESCO convention to which Colombia is not a party.. Bolivian indigenous people from the Qhara Qhara people also claimed that the wealth was taken from their land.
However, the government of leftist Gustavo Petro, in power since 2022, has defended remove the wreck from the ocean with its own resources to contribute to science and cultureregardless of controversies over the distribution of wealth.
