shingshing

KEY WEST, Fla. - Salvagers discovered thousands of pearls Friday in a small, lead box they said they found while searching for the wreckage of the 17th-century Spanish galleon Santa Margarita.

Divers from Blue Water Ventures of Key West said they found the sealed box, measuring 3.5 inches by 5.5 inches, along with a gold bar, eight gold chains and hundreds of other artifacts earlier this week.

They were apparently buried beneath the ocean floor in approximately 18 feet of water about 40 miles west of Key West.

"There are several thousand pearls starting from an eighth of an inch to three-quarters of an inch," said Duncan Mathewson, marine archaeologist and partner in Blue Water Ventures.

James Sinclair, archaeologist and conservator consulting with Mel Fisher's Treasures, Blue Water's joint-venture partners, said the pearls are very rare because of their antiquity and condition.

Sinclair said pearls don't normally survive the ocean water once they are out of the oyster that makes them.

"In this instance, we had a lead box and the silt that had sifted into the box from the site of the Margarita, which preserved the pearls in a fairly pristine state," he said.

An initial cache of treasure and artifacts from the Santa Margarita was discovered in 1980 by pioneering shipwreck salvor Mel Fisher. The ship was bound for Spain when it sank in a hurricane in 1622.

The pearls will be conserved, documented and photographed in an archaeological laboratory above the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West.

"Until they're properly cleaned and conserved we don't know their value, but it would seem they would be worth upwards of a million dollars," Mathewson said.

Sometimes I hope I can be archaeologist, always searching for ancient items or unravel some unknown discoveries...Cool. Wonder how many more discoveries have yet to be found in the big ocean out there. Afterall 70% of the earth make up of the waters....

Dan

Woah ho! This is cool! Sunken treasure!

Hm... But it's like winning TOTO...

Afterall there are not much treasures lying on 70% of the earth...

How many treasures are yet un-found after all these years?

Yes! US$14 received and US$23 coming!
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lonerlost

Wah lucky find!

Vyruss

Arrr me Harties.....
That be a Fine Treasure you've got there....

Beware da Curse of the Black Pearl.....

HAHAHAHA....every little boys dream to find Treasure where X marks the spot.

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Boo!!!

astrea

not bad.... hopefully the price of the pearls can cover up their costs...

djchris

Some people actually do scavanger hunts on a full-time basis with the necessary equipments to uncover shipwrecks, etc.

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pandamanda

ya, i watched it on discovery channel where they searched the shipwrecks. i wanna go treasure hunting toooooo!

AMANDA:biggrin4:

yunise

seems fun. but i don't tink it is actualyl fun.
imagine digging fer years and get nothing at all.

waste of lifetime then..

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Shyraiiyann

got pirates leave behind one!?!


*watched too much of POC*

SG FTW!

gundam916

Treasures AHOY!!! maybe it belonged to Captain Jack Sparrow??? :biggrin4:

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genzo2106

well.. its been some time since we heard of sunken treasure being found..sounds fun:biggrin4:

Life is full of ups and downs. But one has to learn how to stand up on his own and continue his path to attaining enlightment...:mellow3: :mellow3:

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sex-on-heels

The girl with the signature red font. -The name thee dare not speaketh-

uyen

at least it worth the trip.