Carlos Lopez Izquierdo |
San Sebastián (EFE).- It crossed the oceans almost four hundred years ago and ended its last voyage in the waters of Pasaia, very close to the narrow mouth that gives access to this port, on whose seabed a group of researchers led by the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council has located the remains of a mysterious 17th century galleon about which little else is known.
How was it wrecked? What was her origin? What was she carrying? Who were her crew members? An ocean of unanswered questions surrounds the wreck of this historic ship of which, for the moment, there is only one certainty: it was built after 1621.
The data has been known thanks to the study of some of the frames of its roofs, made with trees whose last growth ring takes us back four centuries, as recently revealed by the meticulous dendrochronological analysis of the wood.
The boat is lying on its side and it is difficult for researchers to reach the hull, which is the best element for dating of this type, so it is not ruled out that in the future the ship’s construction date could reach be even more specific.
Armored helmet with lead plates
The hull, apparently armored with lead plates, is another of the enigmatic ship’s greatest singularities because, as sources from the Directorate of the Gipuzkoa Culture Department have explained to EFE, it reveals that we are probably talking about “a warship”.
From there, any conjecture could be valid or, on the contrary, not at all because the investigation has only revealed the existence of the structure of the ship, of which only about twelve meters are visible. The rest remains hidden under a breakwater, while a third segment was inadvertently destroyed some time ago by the port access drainage work.
The three underwater excavation campaigns, developed in the wreck since 2021 by archaeologists Ander Arrese, María Intxaustegi and José Manuel Matés under the direction of the Artistic Historical Heritage Service of the Diputación and with the collaboration of the Blas de Lezo Integrated Center for Professional Training of Pasaia, have also made it possible to recover some significant objects from the depths.
Among them, various elements of “motonería” (pulleys for managing the sail ropes), footwear and some ceramic jug that “place us in the 17th century” but without being “at all conclusive”, explain the aforementioned sources. whose hopes are now focused on the study of the stamp engraved on a metal spoon that “is trying to identify” because it could shed a little more light on the origin of the ship, from which no cannons or ammunition have appeared so far.
cluster of unknowns
A host of unknowns to which, far from finding answers, new questions are constantly being added, after researchers recently discovered that the remains that had initially been identified as one wreck were actually two.
“The second corresponds to a ship loaded with iron ore -probably destined for the Gipuzkoan forges- that seems to be located on top of the galleon, with what we estimate would be a more modern vessel”, clarify those responsible for the investigation, who do not hide that the archaeological work carried out in the area has been “very, very complicated”.
Not only because they are carried out underwater, but because they have taken place in a context in which “merchant merchants continued to pass” near the mouth of the bay, in addition to having had to be authorized by different agencies. with competences in the matter such as the Pasaia Port Authority and the Maritime Captaincy, among others.
serious investigation plan
Circumstances in which the corresponding authorities have decided to postpone carrying out new underwater excavations without a date, “until a serious investigation plan is drawn up” which will also require “extraordinary means”, since it will be necessary to carry out “a heavy-duty research that will mean changing the scale” and addressing “a project that takes months of work with a large infrastructure”.
“Balloons would be needed to bring the remains to the surface – they clarify – and as they come out, take them to pools to preserve them” and it would also be necessary to have “infrastructure on land” because all the organic material that is recovered is saturated with water, so it must be kept in correct conditions “so that it does not degrade” and also afterward it must be “treated” to preserve it.
For these reasons, for the moment the archaeologists have once again covered up both shipwrecks “in a very professional manner”, they have left the site “protected” without revealing its exact location, and they have issued the appropriate warnings to the corresponding authorities to avoid episodes of “poaching”. ”.
Sources from the Directorate of the Foral Department of Culture have highlighted the importance of this finding for the underwater archeology of the territory, since it is an area in which “there is not only knowledge but also experience.” “It is very important have equipment” and now we already have professionals who can carry out “any underwater operation” when the opportunity arises, something that is ultimately “almost more relevant than the discovery itself”, they have concluded.