It is believed to be around 400-years-old and is being described as the “discovery of the century” by Portuguese archaeologists.
A ship that is believed to have been used in the spice trade between Portugal and India was discovered off the coast of Cascais on September 3 by a group of underwater archaeologists in a research project led by the local council. Its findings were presented to the public on Monday.
Archaeologists believe the ship sank while returning from a voyage to India sometime between 1575 and 1625.
The shipwreck was just 12 metres below the surface, near Bugio. In and around it, divers found spices including peppercorns, nine bronze cannons engraved with the Portuguese coat of arms, Chinese ceramics and cowry shells, a type of currency used to trade slaves during the colonial era. Most of the findings were well-preserved.
The area was already considered a “hotspot for shipwrecks” as Minister of Culture Luís Mendes said.
In 1994, Portuguese ship Our Lady of the Martyrs was discovered near Fort of São Julião da Barra, a military defence complex near Cascais.
“For a long time, specialists have considered the mouth of the Tagus river a hotspot for shipwrecks. This discovery came to prove it,” Mendes stated.
The wreck was found as part of a 10-year-old archaeological project backed by the municipal council of Cascais, the navy, the Portuguese government and Nova University of Lisbon.
The pieces will now be examined by the Portuguese government’s directorate-general for cultural heritage.
Jorge Freiro, director of the project, said that this was a rare occasion in which an important discovery was made in Portugal not by chance, but during an actual scientific initiative.
The plan is to now create a map of the shipwreck so that a diagnosis of the area can be made. If all goes according to plan, the shipwreck could actually be used as a ‘training ground’ for archaeology students.
