[Archport] Lifting the veil on the treasures of the deep

["Alexandre Monteiro" <no.arame@gmail.com>]

http://www.republikein.com.na/politiek-en-nasionale/sluier-lig-oor-seekelders-se-skatte.73450.php


> Lifting the veil on the treasures of the deep.
>
> The diamond coast of Namibia, inaccessible for most people, is a cemetery of ancient ships and a many treasures from earliest civilizations.  Oranjemund is now an anthill of activity and later today local and international media will for the first time gain access to the 16th century treasure ship which was found here 6 months ago.
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> TV teams and journalists from all over the world descended on the town to join the team of experts who have been busy with salvaging the ancient caravel and its load of gold, silver, copper and ivory.  It is also known that a similar ship was found 50 years ago near Elizabeth bay.
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> There's also film evidence of the wreck with its cannons.  The search is also on for a Dutch ship, the Vlissingen, which ran aground around 1748 near Meob Bay.  The 650 ton ship belonged to the VOC and was used for the first time in 1734 on the Batavian route.
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> Thousands of gold, silver and copper coins from this ship were found on the Namibian coast in the 60's.  Almost everything landed in the hands of private treasure hunters.  The Republikein found an ex-Oranjemunder who found a "bag full" of coins from the fifteenth century in 1964-1966.
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> Mr. Jim Murray was part of the "Anglo-American Oceanographic Unit", stationed on Luderitz and Elizabeth Bay.  He was also involved with projects of the US army in Elizabeth Bay for the testing of new communication equipment.  According to him, now a pensioner in Johannesburg, the coins he got from colleagues fifty years ago, dated from 1404 and could all have been Portuguese or Dutch coins.
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> Mr Murray said he spoke to a pilot in Luderitz who told him about an antique wreck which was sometimes visible between Luderitz and Saddle Hill.  It was sometimes covered by sand, and then sometimes blown open and visible.
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> "We tried to get permission to go and look for the wreck, but mine management wouldn't allow it.  Our boss was a geologist, Dr. James Guest, who also refused permission without OK from the management", said mister Murray.  At the same time, a research team from the then CDM, on the research ship, the Rockeater, found a new wreck which was still under water.
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> Film records were taken of the wreck and the cannons was clearly visible.  Again permission for a full scale archaeological investigation was denied. The first official archaeological investigation which was granted by NamDeb, took place in 1993 under the leadership of the maritime archeaologist now in charge of the Oranjemund wreck, Dr Bruno Werz.
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> Dr Werz and a descendent of one of the first ship's captains of the Vlissingen, Mr. Gunter von Schumann, did the research after thousands of coins washed up on shore.  Their excavations between 17-21 September 2001 yielded 243 coins, minted in 1746.  The fourth ships wreck was apparently found in September last year when an employee of Namdeb found the head mast of an antique sailing ship.
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> The mast was found by Mr. Andrew Darne in the mining area known as U-105 and it will be presented to reporters today together with pieces of the wreck of the Dias ship.  Mr Murray is however convinced that the diamond area is strewn with more wrecks from early eras.  "There were masts of old ships everywhere.
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> When you're 24 years old, you don't worry about these things, for it is then nothing more than old fishing boats.  I told people often that more masts will be found".  According to Mr. Murray he and his colleagues took a bag full of coins to the Luderitz museum, but the curators were not interested, for "they already had too many of the coins."
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> Christo Retief – Oranjemund.