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Thursday, November 01, 2001, updated at 09:16(GMT+8)
World  

Possible Wreckage Site of One of Colombu's Ships Found in Panama

Panamanian authorities Tuesday announced they have spotted on the coasts of the littoral Colon province the site of what they thought to be the wreckage of the Spanish caravel Vizcaina that was part of the fleet used by Christopher Colombus in his fourth and last expedition to America.

"We have discovered a Spanish ship in good condition, and in looking at the pieces on board and historical records, we believe it belonged to Christopher Columbus," said Rafael Ruiloba, director of Panama's National Culture Institute (INAC).

The Vizcaina was one of a fleet of four vessels (the other three being the Capitana, the Gallega and the Santiago) that left Spain on May 11, 1502 and which reached as far south as present-day Panama. This expedition explored the coasts of present-day Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama.

Ruiloba said nearly 800 meters off the coast where it is presumed that Colombus ordered the sinking of the Vizcaina, as it was in bad shape, four 16th century artillery pieces and munitions were found 20 meters deep in the Caribbean Sea.

He added these objects matched those that would have been on a ship carrying Columbus, credited with having discovered the Americas for the Europeans in 1492.

Ruiloba said that 500 years ago the shores off Colon were busy shipping lanes for Spanish traders and that he thought "no less than 20 ships and galleons sank there between 1500 and 1819."

The INAC chief explained the cannons were retrieved last weekend by ships of his institution equipped with cranes because the weight of the biggest two pieces is 227 and 908 kilograms each.

In addition to the mentioned objects, divers found pottery and amphorae from the colonial period.

According to Ruiloba, the artifacts recovered from the sea are already at the INAC facilities in Colon province, and once they are studied they will be placed in the History Museum.







In This Section
 

Panamanian authorities Tuesday announced they have spotted on the coasts of the littoral Colon province the site of what they thought to be the wreckage of the Spanish caravel Vizcaina that was part of the fleet used by Christopher Colombus in his fourth and last expedition to America.

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