"Tortugas" Artifacts and Treasures

The 1990-1991 "Tortugas" excavation seasons produced nearly 17,000 artifacts, which combined with extensive research, suggests a vessel of seventeenth century Spanish origin—likely the Nuestra Senora de la Consolacion that sailed with the 1622 Tierra Firme Spanish treasure fleet. The deep-ocean excavation was conducted entirely by robotic and computer technology directed by an archaeologist and crew aboard a recovery vessel hundreds of feet above the shipwreck site. The "Tortugas" project would make history as the world's first deep-ocean remotely-operated archaeological excavation of a shipwreck site.

The artifact assemblage recovered from the "Tortugas" wreck contains a diversity of items: 17th century navigational objects and items for everyday use combined with a wealth of precious treasure reaped from Spain’s New World colonies. Importantly, many of the artifacts retrieved from the site—gold bars, silver coins, bronze implements, ceramics, and pearls—help confirm the ship’s Spanish Colonial origins and its 1622 wreck date. Conservation and analysis of the artifact collection continues today in Odyssey Marine Exploration's land-based conservation facility.

Bronze Bell

Saltwater is a hostile environment for most metals. Yet despite centuries underwater, the "Tortugas" shipwreck yielded some extraordinary metal artifacts including a bronze bell, the first object recovered from the site and the artifact that Odyssey used to file an admiralty claim for ownership of the wreck. The small size of the bell, and the gaping hole on one side, suggests it was not the ship's bell, but perhaps was a church bell being shipped to Spain for repair.

Gold Bars

Gold was the most desired product of the New World. Native Americans enslaved by the Spanish in Central and South America mined the gold, melted it and cast it into bars for easy shipment back to Spain. The "Tortugas" shipwreck site yielded twenty-seven gold bars with distinctive markings on the surface. A semi-circular line and dot design was the stamp of the royal tax, indicating the bar had been accounted for (i.e. was not contraband) and that the king had received his 20 percent of the gold. The purity of the gold was also marked in Roman numerals with dots appearing beneath the number to indicate fractional values. The gold bars range in purity from 20 to 22 carats. Other markings on the bars are believed to be the stamp of the New World foundry where the bars originated. These well-defined markings are the same as those stamped on the gold bars recovered from the Nuestra Senora de Atocha, one of the 1622 Tierra Firme treasure ships lost in the same fleet disaster. These common markings help confirm the date and the Spanish Colonial identity of the "Tortugas" wreck site.

Mariner’s Astrolabe

The "Tortugas" artifact assemblage includes three rare bronze astrolabes. Less than a hundred or so similar navigational devices have been recovered worldwide. The forerunner of the sextant, the astrolabe was used by early sailors as a navigational device to estimate latitude. Suspended by a ring from the thumb, the instrument was held at arms length, and the center alidade rotated so the sun or a specific star could be sighted through a hole in the vertical plates. A book of tables was then consulted to interpret the reading and estimate latitude. 

Mortar & Pestle Sets

Two similar bronze mortar and pestle sets found at the "Tortugas" site may have been used to grind food or spices or perhaps were used by the ship’s doctor in the preparation of medicines. The mortars are ornamented on their exterior with what appears to be small faces of people or zoomorphic figures. Duplicate mortar and pestle sets were retrieved from the 1622 Atocha shipwreck site, further confirming the date and Spanish Colonial identity of the "Tortugas" wreck site.

Spanish Olive Jars

Large rounded ceramic containers, known today as "olive jars," were used for storing and transporting goods on the ship. Seventy-six of these vessels in several distinctive forms were recovered intact from the "Tortugas" site. The assortment of ceramic shards also recovered from the wreck suggests the ship carried at least another 123 once-intact olive jars. Distinctive markings on the rim or shoulder of several samples are thought to be the stamp of the merchant whose products were being transported. Significantly, these markings are the same as those found on the olive jars recovered from the 1622 Atocha wreck site.

Olive jars typically carried a diversity of goods, much more varied than the name implies. Remnants of hazelnuts, olive pits and almonds were discovered in some of the vessels, and a chalky red stain on the interior of a few of the ceramic shards also suggests the jars may have contained a red ochre pigment or cochineal, a traditional red dye of pre-Hispanic Mexico. Next to gold and silver, cochineal became the most desired commodity imported from Middle America, and Spain established a monopoly in its trade. It is also likely the olive jars stored water and wine—a necessity for long sea voyages.

The cork seals imploded into the jars during the nearly 1,500-foot descent to the seabed.  Both intact corks as well as pieces were found inside some of the jars.  

Brass Medallion

Spanish sailors of the seventeenth century were devoutly religious and the ship’s passenger lists often included Catholic clergy. A small brass medallion with religious figures on both sides is an especially prized piece recovered from the "Tortugas" wreck site; one side bears what appears to be the name "Santa Cateri," surrounding a figure believed to be St. Catherine with a sword and a crown. The other side bears the image of additional holy figures and the letters "ROMA". Authentic replicas of this distinctive medallion have been reproduced as gold jewelry.

Pearls

Over 6,000 pearls were recovered from the "Tortugas" wreck site, retrieved by sieving the dredge material. The shapes of the pearls include round, pear, egg, drop, button, baroque and blister as defined by the Gemological Institute of America. Several of the samples were drilled with holes, used as beads perhaps strung or possibly sewn on clothing. As the result of abrasion over the centuries, research suggests that when harvested, the original pearls were two to three times their present size. The discovery of the pearls suggest the ship made stops in Venezuela or Columbia, known ports along the 1622 Tierra Firme Caribbean route. Some of these pearls have been mounted in 14K gold "olive jar" shaped pendants.

Coin Assemblage

The assemblage of over 1000 silver coins found at the "Tortugas" wreck site contains no coins dated later than 1622. They are all of a type known as “cob” coins, a name derived from the Spanish phrase, Cabo de barra, meaning “end of the bar.” In the usual production process of cob coins, silver with the requisite 92% to 98% pure silver, was hammered into crude bars with slight variance in thickness. Pieces of the bar were then cut to approximate size, weighed and the edges clipped until the blanks fell within specific weight requirements. The blanks were then reheated, placed between dies and struck to imprint the crowned Shield of the House of Hapsburg on the obverse, and on the reverse, a cross with Lions of Lion and Castles of Castile. Cob coins in effect, were never round or even, and due to the production process were each unique in shape and size. Authentic replicas of the "Tortugas" cobs have been crafted into sterling silver and 14K gold jewelry .