A 400-year-old, virtually intact trading ship has been found off the coast of the Portuguese town of Cascais.
The ship is thought to be a remarkable find since it is laden with goods and in excellent condition.
The wreck was located on September 3, 2018, by a team of archaeologists and is thought to have sunk between 1575 and 1625. The vessel was a trading ship en route to Portugal from India and is laden with Chinese ceramics, bronze cannons, and cowrie shells.
The wreck offers excellent opportunities for discovery and artifact recovery since it is lying at the shallow depth of 12m/40ft. According to the project director Jorge Freire:
“From a heritage perspective, this is the discovery of the decade. In Portugal, this is the most important find of all time.”
The find is the most significant in Portuguese waters and trumps the 1994 discovery of the vessel “Our Lady of the Martyrs,” which was also found in the waters near Cascais.
You can check out a short video of the wreck below.
