Shipwreck with 22 Tons of Gold Treasure Identified off Portugal Coast

Marine archaeologist Alexandre Monteiro has said that the coast of Portugal between the Azores and Madeira islands holds golden treasure-laden shipwrecks. This region is said to contain close to 8,620 ships, and 250 of them are said to hold a significant amount of gold treasure.

Monteiro is an investigator who works with Nova University in Lisbon and has built a database that records shipwrecks dating back to the XVI century when historical records become more easily accessible.

In an interview with a local outlet, Lusa, Monteiro claims to have documented more than 7,500 shipwrecks off Portugal’s continental coast, 1000 near the Azores, and 120 off the island of Madeira.

Some of the most significant shipwrecks on the coast of Portugal are ships filled with gold treasure

In the interview, Monteiro highlighted some of the most significant shipwrecks he could identify in the area. For instance, he claimed that near Troia there is a Spanish ship called Nossa Senhora do Rosário, which according to Monteiro was carrying 22 tons of gold and silver. Unfortunatley, the exact location of this ship remains undiscovered.

Since this ship has sunk, the treasure is secure from potential looting due to its depth in the ocean. This is also the case for many of the alleged 250 shipwrecks in the area.

Remarkably, Monteiro claims that in the immediate area, there are almost 250 shipwrecks that hold treasure with similar characteristics.

“We know that there are 250 ships that hold treasures, and sooner or later, a construction project or something similar will discover it. Regardless, there is no contingency plan to protect these findings,” he said.

The Portuguese government has failed to take action over Monteiro’s findings

Monteiro’s research is accessible to anyone, and the data he compiled has been handed to Portuguese officials. Despite this, however, the Portuguese government has not taken any measures to protect the sites.

Cultural sites such as the ones described by Monteiro’s research represent an invaluable heritage to the country, both culturally and economically. Failing to act to protect these sites could put these unique sites and the treasures they hold at risk.

According to the marine archaeologist, the biggest tragedy of these shipwrecks is the fact that no one really knows how many ships there are, and where they are located. But Monteiro says this is only the first step, as it is much more important to actively protect the shipwrecks. 

The local scientific community is applying pressure for more proactive action from the government to preserve the remains of these ships, as despite them being safe from looting, construction projects pose the greatest threat to these sites.