Earlier this month, a group of archaeologists have been in for a rush of a lifetime after they found an unbelievable trove of treasure whereas excavating in Colombia.

They uncovered the primary of many fortuned objects from the notorious San José galleon, a wreck that went down in historical past because the “Holy Grail of shipwrecks.” Sinking into the Caribbean Sea as long in the past as 1708, the ship went underneath during an assault by British troops.

“Holy Grail” is no exaggeration; there may be stated to be as a lot as 11 million gold and silver cash, along with an intensive assortment of emeralds and different treasures. The loot may very well be price as a lot as $20 billion. It is unclear how a lot of this haul will probably be unrecoverable.

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Unsurprisingly, this shipwreck has been the subject of great debate and worldwide disputes because it was first found back in 2015. Both Colombia and Spain have claimed possession to the treasure. On high of this, Colombia is in a legal battle with a group of U.S. buyers referred to as Sea Search Armada, who declare they found the wreck in 1982.

The ship was on its approach to King Philip V of Spain when it sank more than 300 years in the past. The ship carried at the least 600 sailors, with solely 11 surviving the wreck. Many imagine that it was an explosion that brought on the 62-gun, three-masted ship to sink after it was ambushed by an English squadron. However, Colombia’s authorities believes it might have sunk for different causes, together with harm to the hull. The official trigger of the wreck continues to be being investigated immediately.

So far, Colombia’s tradition ministry has revealed that the archaeologists have situated a porcelain cup, three cash, and a bronze cannon nonetheless in impeccable situation from the location. To today, the ship’s precise location has been stored underneath lock and key from the public and is claimed to be virtually 2,000 toes deep within the sea.

The archaeologists’ findings quantity to solely a small portion of the treasures to return. That being stated, the Colombian authorities says that this deep-sea expedition is being executed within the title of analysis and scientific investigation, not treasure searching.

The San José galleon holds the file as probably the most priceless shipwreck identified to man.