After it sank in the Bahamas in 1656, repeated attempts were made to save it. When another expedition was launched recently, few thought that there could be anything left, but exquisite, jewel-encrusted pendants and gold chains are among spectacular finds that have now been recovered.
The Nuestra Seora de las Maravillas went down on the western side of the Little Bahama Bank, but the treasures were found across a large debris trail.
The Maravillas were explored scientifically by Allen Exploration and will be displayed in a museum in the Bahamas.
Some of the discoveries may have been destined for the wealthy, if not royalty. Pilgrims heading for Santiago de Compostela in Galicia will see a gold pendant with an Indian bezoar stone shaped like a scallops shell. The sacred Order of Santiago, a military-religious order of knights, were active in Spain's maritime trade.
There is a gold Cross of St. JamesSantiago over an emerald framed by a dozen square emeralds.
Evidence of illegal activity can be found in the clusters of emeralds and amethysts that were recovered from a mine in Columbia.
The editor of Wreckwatch magazine, which will feature the finds in a forthcoming issue, told the Observer that they were dramatic as they were in the middle of nowhere. He said that the surgery was a success.
The Maravillas is named after a 13th century sculpture of the Virgin Mary in a Madrid convent. It was on its way home to Spain from Havana with treasures from the Americas, both royal and private, as well as a lavish cargo rescued from another Spanish ship that had wrecked off the coast of Ecuador.
It sank at around midnight on January 4th, 1656, after a navigation error. Only 45 of the 650 people on board survived the crash. The sharks devoured many of them.
Carl Allen, the founder of Allen Exploration, developed a successful plastics business before retiring early and later became a philanthropist and explorer.
He said his breath caught in his throat when he brought up the emerald and gold necklace. These Santiago finds bridge the worlds of coins and jewels. When I hold it, I think about its history. The miracle of the Maravillas is how these tiny pendants survived in the water.
In the 17th and 18th century, Spanish, English, French, Dutch, Bahamian and American expeditions salvaged the wreck of the galleon. Some people think the remains were not real. The trail of finds is being tracked using modern technology and hard science.
He pulled together a team and ships to search for the lost sterncastle after he was convinced that not all the ship was destroyed. He wanted to study the wreck archaeologically, unlike his predecessors who just sold off finds.
Using cutting-edge science, his team is trying to figure out how the Maravillas was wrecked by centuries of hurricanes.
The data collected by the expedition is being used to understand the archaeology and marine environment.
Allen stated that the sea bottom was barren. The coral that was remembered by divers in the 70s is gone, poisoned by ocean acidification and chokes on sand. It's really sad. There are still sparkling finds on the grey reefs.
Iron rings and pins from the rigging have been recorded by the team. Personal belongings, including a soldier's silver sword-hilt and a pearl ring, have been found.
All of the wrecks in the waters of the Bahamas are owned by the government and Allen Exploration is sponsoring the new Bahamas Maritime Museum in August.
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