Long-Lost Ship Found in the Desert Laden With Gold

The discovery of a ship, missing for five centuries, in a southwest African desert, filled with gold coins, is one of the most thrilling archaeological finds in recent times.

The Bom Jesus (The Good Jesus) was a Portuguese vessel that set sail from Lisbon, Portugal on Friday, March 7, 1533.

Its fate was unknown until 2008 when its remains were discovered in the desert of Namibia during diamond mining operations near the coast of the African nation.

When it sank in a fierce storm, it was on its way to India laden with treasures like gold and copper ingots.

Two thousand pure gold coins and tens of thousands of pounds of copper ingots were discovered on the Bom Jesus, almost all intact.

It is speculated that the Bom Jesus sank when it was pulled too close to shore in a storm off the coast of Namibia, causing the ship’s hull to collide with a rock and lean over, capsizing the vessel. As the coastline waters receded, the Bom Jesus reemerged in the desert.

The condition that the ship was found in suggests that the storm that caused the shipwreck was especially violent, although an absence of human remains (besides a few scattered bone fragments) in the site suggests that most of the crew on board survived the wreck or died at sea.

Dr Noli, the chief archeologist of the Southern Africa Institute of Maritime Archaeological Research, said recently the coastline was notorious for storms so finding a shipwreck was hardly surprising.

However, it was a week into the excavation that a treasure chest laden with gold was found, with the coins indicating it had come from a Portuguese ship that had disappeared in 1533.

Further investigation revealed the discovery of bronze bowls, and long metal poles later found to be canons.

Dr Noli’s team also found a musket which he estimated to be at least 500 years old, and bits of metal which revealed a shipwreck was buried in the sand.

It also found compasses, swords, astronomical tools, canons and even a time capsule. Silver coins were also found.

Based on the contents of the shipwreck, Dr. Noli and other scholars believe the ship was on course for Western India from its home port in Lisbon, Portugal around the southern tip of Africa, a common route for similar Portuguese vessels during this time that carried the same cargo.

Ref: Long-Lost Ship Found in the Desert Laden With Gold (greekreporter)