Lisbon: Archaeologists in Portugal have found a 400-year-old shipwreck that has been described as “the discovery of the decade”. The ship that traversed the spice route between India and Europe sank sometime between 1575 and 1625. The team believes the ship was returning from India when it sank.
Peppercorns, fragments of Chinese porcelain from the late 16th and early 17th centuries, as well as bronze cannons, were found among the sunken remains near Cascais, close to the country’s capital Lisbon. The wreck site, which sits about 40ft below the surface, is about 330ft long and 165ft wide. Project director Jorge Freire told Reuters that the wreck was very well-preserved. He said: “From a heritage perspective, this is the discovery of the decade.
The discovery will shed light on both India and Portugal’s trading past and a better understanding of the spice route. According to the survey team, the latest find is in better structural shape than Our Lady of the Martyrs, another famous wreck. Among the discoveries were cowry shells, a type of currency used to trade slaves during the colonial era.
