A piece of gold, silver and emerald have been lost under the waves of the Caribbean for centuries.
But now researchers believe that they have identified the “Holy Grail of the Swreck”.
In 1708, after the Royal Navy sank, the rich treasures of San Jose, Spain seemed to have disappeared forever.
A squadron commanded by Charles Wager, who will continue to serve as the first lord of Admiralty, intercepted the treasure fleet near Baru Island, Cartagena, Colombia, attacked and exploded, detonated its powder magazine and sent it to the seabed.
The treasure is being transported from Peru to Spain, funding the succession war between Spain and Britain and its allies.
Gold and silver coins, pearls and gemstones claim to be priced at the moment as high as £16 billion, sitting on San Jose.
The ship sank in the war Spanish efforts weakened efforts from Britain, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.
Colombia's academic community now claims to have confirmed that the wreckage of the 2015 South American national coast was San Jose.
They used underwater drones to photograph ships and surrounding cargoes found on and around the seabed near Baru Island in 2015.
Analysis of images of silver coins found – in 1707 with the mint logo casting of Lima, Peru.
Other discoveries include Chinese porcelain from the Conger period (1662-1722) and inscriptions of cannons dating back to 1665.
These findings suggest that the wreckage was a ship that sank in the early 18th century.
“This system of evidence demonstrates the identification of the wreck as San José Galleon, a hypothesis proposed since its initial discovery in 2015,” the scholars found.
“The discovery of COBS in Lima Mint in 1707 pointed to a ship navigating the Tierra Firme route in the early 18th century. The San Jose Galleon was the only ship that matched these characteristics.
“This discovery is a rare opportunity to explore underwater archaeological sites and deepen our understanding of colonial ocean trade and routes.”
This analysis could deepen the battle against legal ownership of the wreckage.
Colombia, Spain, Peru, the indigenous communities in the region, descendants of miners who excavate treasures and miners who hunt companies made claims, which the miners' descendants said were the wreckage of 1981.
The Ocean Search Fleet, the new owner of Glocca Morra, insisted that the sailing ship was found within a mile or two it found in 1981.
