Posts Tagged ‘Sunken treasure’

Huge Silver Haul Possible From WWII Ship

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September 27th, 2011

70 year old wreck holds a huge silver cargo in its watery grave

When the SS Gairsoppa was torpedoed by a German U-boat 70 years ago, it took its cargo with it to the bottom of the ocean. US divers are now working to recover what may be the biggest shipwreck haul ever, valued at some $210 million.

219 tons of silver

A Florida-based company, Odyssey Marine Exploration, confirmed the identity and location of the Gairsoppa, and cited official documents indicating the British ship was carrying some 219 tons of silver when it sank in 1941 in the North Atlantic some 300 miles off the Irish coast. Valued then at £600,000, the silver today is worth about $210 million, which would make it history’s largest recovery of precious metals lost at sea, Odyssey said. "We’ve accomplished the first phase of this project, the location and identification of the target shipwreck, and now we’re planning the recovery phase," Odyssey senior project manager Andrew Craig said in a statement. “We are confident that our salvage operation, expected to begin next spring, will recover this silver cargo."

Gairsoppa

The 412-foot Gairsoppa had been sailing from India back to Britain in February 1941 bearing a cargo of silver, pig iron and tea, and was in a convoy of ships when a storm hit. Running low on fuel, the Gairsoppa broke off from the convoy and set a course for Galway, Ireland. It never made it, succumbing to a German torpedo in the contested waters of the North Atlantic. Of the 85 people on board, only one survived.

On the bottom

The Gairsoppa came to rest nearly 15,400 feet below the surface, where for decades it was lost to the world. A previous effort to locate the shipwreck failed. Odyssey found it relatively quickly, and insists the depth of the site won’t prevent a full cargo recovery. "We found the shipwreck sitting upright, with the holds open and easily accessible," Odyssey chief executive Greg Stemm said. Photographs released by the company show clear details of the Gairsoppa, including a ladder leading to the forecastle deck, a waist-high compass used by the helmsman, even the hole in the steel hull blown open by the torpedo.

Technology

The find highlights the influential role that modern technology has come to play in the business of finding shipwrecks, with vastly improved sonar equipment, global positioning systems and advanced deepwater robots that scour the world’s oceans for booty.

Shipwrecks

UNESCO estimates there are some three million shipwrecks worldwide, with billions of dollars in sunken treasures and priceless knowledge that can be recovered from the depths of the ocean, including vast amounts of naturally occurring copper, silver, gold and zinc deposits waiting to be discovered. "The majority of the world’s ocean floor has not yet been explored," said Odyssey president Mark Gordon, who told AFP that the discovery at some 15,400 feet beneath below the ocean’s surface is a treasure trove for companies like his.

Tags: Gairsoppa, Shipwrecks, Silver, Sunken treasure
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Here’s an Easy Way to Make Some Spare Cash

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September 22nd, 2011

Go diving off your coast, wherever that is

A lifeguard on a beach in Israel first spotted the tip of the anchor on a daily swim five years ago. It was peeking out from the sandy ocean floor about 150 feet from the coast. This month lifeguards plunged into the Mediterranean Sea on an unusual rescue mission: To pull out an ancient ship’s anchor. The Antiquities Authority estimates that the anchor was probably a spare kept in the belly of a Byzantine vessel that crashed and sank in storm about 1,700 years ago.

Shifting sands

It wasn’t until this month that the sands shifted to reveal the treasure in its entirety: A 7-foot, 650-pound iron anchor, probably a spare in the belly of a Byzantine ship that crashed and sank in a storm about 1,700 years ago, said archaeologist Jacob Sharvit of Israel’s Antiquities Authority. "It’s a feast for the eyes," said the lifesaver whose colleagues swam out to the spot, in water about six feet deep and dragged it into the lifeguard shack in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv.

The anchor

The anchor dates back to the 4th or 5th century, estimated Sharvit, who heads the marine archaeology branch of Israel’s Antiquities Authority. He said it attests to the vibrant sea trade of the Byzantine era, when merchant ships would carry oil, wine and stones for construction to ports along the coast and across the Mediterranean. The anchor also may point to a previously unknown ancient harbor on the coast, he added.

He said his team of archaeologists would go diving this week to search for the rest of the shipwrecked treasure. He expects to find ancient wine and oil jugs, coins, the seafarers’ personal items and more anchors.

Time capsule

Shipwrecked finds, while not rare, are especially valuable for archaeologists. Ancient ships often carried brand-new items on their way to be sold in markets. That means researchers can examine those items in their original condition, before they were used.

The collection of items found on the ocean floor also tells a complete story of the seafaring routes and technological advances of that moment in history. "It’s like a time capsule," Sharvit said. "Every find, especially in the sea, tells a story of disaster."

Numerous tragedies

The region’s 5,000 years of seafaring have seen numerous tragedies. Every few days, Sharvit’s divers discover remnants of sunken ships on the ocean floor. So far they’ve found 500 groups of shipwrecked items along Israel’s coast, though he said the anchor is among the most impressive finds.

Storm

A particularly strong storm at the end of 2010 moved large amounts of sand, unearthing ancient objects close to the coast. A passer-by on the beach in Ashkelon, south of Tel Aviv, found a 4-foot tall white marble Roman statue of a woman in a toga and sandals on a cliff that had crumbled under the weight of strong winds and high waves. The rise in discoveries also led to an increase in looting, Sharvit said. They include scuba divers who go looking for treasure to sell on the black market, as well as fishermen who discover antiquities in their nets and take them home along with the fish.

Tags: Lifeguards, Sunken ships, Sunken treasure, Treasure
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