2024-03-02 13:08:12
The legendary treasure of the San José about to resurface
It is a treasure of inestimable archaeological value and colossal market value (estimated at several billion dollars). It has been lying at a depth of 600 meters in the Caribbean Sea for more than 3 centuries. This treasure is the cargo of a legendary Spanish ship: the San José. In June 1708, this gigantic galleon was sunk by the British fleet. It was carrying dozens and dozens of tons of gold, silver and precious stones in its holds. These riches came from the Spanish colonies in America and were to be transported to the court of King Philip V. The San José and its treasure had been swallowed up by the sea. But in December 2015 the Colombian authorities announced that they had discovered the wreck of the legendary ship.
The wreck of the boat lies off the coast of Colombia, west of Cartagena. The exact site is kept secret. But Colombia has just announced that next April the extraction of objects using an underwater robot will begin. To begin, it will be a matter of raising the visible objects around the old ship without damaging the wreck. Ceramic parts in particular should be reassembled.
What will happen to the rest of the precious cargo? Colombia wishes to keep this treasure on its soil. Spain is demanding protection for the wreck on the basis of a UNESCO convention. Representatives of Bolivia’s indigenous peoples argue that these riches were stolen from their ancestors. And to top it all off, an American company claims to have been the first to discover the wreck in 1982. It is claiming rights to half of this treasure in court, the value of which it estimates at $20 billion. It’s crazy how archeology can unleash passions!
To find out more: an article from Sciences et Avenir and an article from Le Figaro
A new species of giant snake discovered in the Amazon
This discovery was made by a team of scientists invited by the Waorani people to explore a region of the Ecuadorian Amazon in which live gigantic snakes that the indigenous people consider sacred. After 10 days of canoeing, researchers discovered these creatures lurking at the bottom of a river. They measured the size of a female: 6.3 meters long. These giant snakes are not venomous. They attack their prey, which can be a caiman or a deer, by wrapping themselves around it, then they crush its bones by constriction and swallow it whole.
These snakes belong to a species of giant anaconda that had never been scientifically described. Genetic analyzes revealed that its genome presented a 5.5% difference with that of another already known species which resembles it: the green anaconda. The common ancestor of these two species dates back more than 10 million years. The researchers insisted that the Waorani who accompanied the expedition appear as co-authors of the publication announcing this major discovery.
Read more: The study published in MDPI Diversity, an article from The Conversation and a press release from the University of Queensland
Three more small moons for Uranus and Neptune
Ever more powerful telescopes have made it possible to detect these tiny stars around the two most distant gas giants in our solar system. One moon for Uranus (only 8 kilometers wide) and 2 for Neptune (barely larger: 14 and 23 kilometers in diameter).
These discoveries bring the number of moons of Uranus to 28 and that of Neptune to 16. In accordance with custom, the moon of Uranus will receive a name from the works of Shakespeare and those of Neptune the name of a goddess or ‘a sea nymph from Greek mythology. We will now have to wait before future probes take their portrait.
To find out more: The announcement on the Carnegie Institution website
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