Hear about the ‘holy grail’ of shipwrecks

May 28, 2019

MARION — On June 7 at 7 pm the Marion Natural History Museum (8 Spring Street) will host Dr. Jeff Kaeli, of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) to speak about discovering the San Jose shipwreck. 

The three-century-old San Jose was a 62-gun three-masted Spanish galleon that sank with a cargo believed to be worth billions of dollars. The ship, which is often called the "holy grail of shipwrecks," went down with a treasure of gold, silver and emeralds in 1708 during a battle with British ships in the War of Spanish Succession. The legendary wreck was discovered off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia on Nov. 27, 2015, more than 600 meters below the surface, using an autonomous underwater robot developed and operated by WHOI engineers.

Kaeli will explain more about the discovery and show images captured by scientists exploring the wreck. Partial funding for the lecture has been provided by the Marion Cultural Council. The museum requests a $10 donation for members, $12 for non-members and $15 for families with children.