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De Nicolas Montard - Ouest France

C’est un trésor exceptionnel. Le Département des Monnaies, médailles et antiques de la Bibliothèque Nationale de France à Paris restaure 4 000 piastres d’argent, retrouvées dans la Jeanne-Elisabeth.

Ce navire avait sombré en Méditerranée au XVIIIe siècle.

« Nous ne sommes pas nombreux à pouvoir les tenir entre nos mains. » Jérôme Jambu a beau avoir déjà manipulé des centaines de ces piastres, le plaisir est toujours le même au moment de se saisir de l’une des pièces de huit, le petit nom des pièces de 8 réaux espagnols.

« Un tel trésor, c’est exceptionnel, décrypte le conservateur, chargé des collections de monnaies étrangères au Département des Monnaies, médailles et antiques à la Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

C’est le premier trésor maritime de l’époque moderne de cette importance que l’on ait retrouvé dans nos eaux territoriales. »

Retour 260 ans en arrière, en novembre 1755. À l’époque, l’Atlantique est un véritable océan… d’argent. Les Espagnols transportent de précieuses cargaisons de l’Amérique jusqu’à leur port de Cadix, au sud de la péninsule ibérique.

Là, des marchands dispatchent le métal précieux - déjà frappé en monnaie, le real -, mais aussi d’autres produits du Nouveau Monde vers les ports européens.

La maison Verduc, marchands malouins installés en bord de Méditerranée, se serait chargée de la cargaison de la Jeanne-Elisabeth.

Ce bateau suédois doit rallier Marseille avec blé, tabac, vin, cochenille… et 24 000 piastres d’argent. Une petite fortune : 24 000 piastres représentent près de 700 ans de salaire moyen d’un journalier de l’époque !

Sauf que prise dans une tempête, la Jeanne-Elisabeth coule au large de Villeneuve-les-Maguelone (Hérault) le 14 novembre.

Dix-neuf occupants sur vingt-et-un réussissent à rejoindre le rivage, deux périssent. Quant aux fameuses pièces, rangées dans des sacs dissimulés dans le blé, elles sont perdues à jamais…
 

Toute l'histoire...

By Jana Louise Smit - Listverse

When ancient ships are discovered, largely all that remains are remnants of wood.

Eons beneath the waves will dismantle organic matter, and within decades, cargoes and passengers are erased. Once in a while, the icy depths become an untouched tomb, preserving moments from hundreds, even thousands of years ago.

From what the royals wore, snacks preferred by sailors, to finding evidence that finally put notorious rumors to rest. Lost stories of tragedy and trade resurface, as well as the unknown and rare.

A case of sticky fingers is still being disputed between Greece and Britain.

In 1801, Lord Elgin filled 16 crates with marble art he removed from the Parthenon. The next year, the British ship Mentor sailed for London, carrying the loot (or rightful property, depending on one’s view) and Lord Elgin.

Near the island of Kythera, it was scuttled by a storm. Shortly afterward, the crates were salvaged and their contents displayed in London’s British Museum. The 17 sculptures and 56 panels that once decorated the Parthenon remain at the heart of an ownership squabble between the two countries.

More recently, archaeologists visited the 200-year-old shipwreck to see if it contained more artifacts. They were on the lookout for additional Parthenon marbles that might have been left behind, but the trip was also an attempt to confirm a rumor that Lord Elgin had taken other antiquities from Greece.

The two-week survey proved that he did. Divers found a stone vessel and the handles of ancient Rhodian amphoras, some stamped, dating back to the third century B.C.

Full story...

By Patrick Knox - The Sun

A team of shipwreck explorers believe they’ve found the real reason behind why Nazi U-boats sunk a ship carrying children – one of World War 2’s worst maritime atrocities.

For the City of Benares may have been targeted because Germany believed there was a secret cargo of gold bullion aboard.

Some 262 passengers and crew perished on the middle of night in September 1940 when the 11,000-ton City of Benares was torpedoed while carrying evacuees to Canada.

Now divers have been exploring the wreck in a bid to find £4.5 billion worth of bullion.

Speaking to MailOnline, Will Carrier, operations director of Britannia’s Gold which carrying out the gold hunt, said “We will not touch the City of Benares. “We will treat all these wrecks with respect but Benares is designated as a war grave and should be treated as such. “It’s still a very sensitive subject.”
 

Full story...

By Khristian Ibarrola - Lifestyle Inquirer

Shipwrecks are usually home to lost treasures including an extremely rare 887-carat gem.

A collection of exquisite emeralds discovered from a 400-year-old shipwreck will be up for auction on April 25, The Telegraph reported.

The impressive glittering set of gems, which consists of more than 20 loose emeralds, is far more expensive than diamonds and will be sold to the highest bidder by Guernsey’s Auction House in New York, USA.

But the collection’s main attraction is the 887-carat “La Gloria,” which is deemed as ”one of the largest museum-quality emeralds in the world.”

The gem is estimated to fetch between $4 million and $5 million.

Full story...

By Christian Gollayan - New York Post

If James Cameron’s 1997 movie wasn’t enough to satisfy your Titanic appetite, you’re in luck.

Blue Marble Private, a London-based luxury tour operator, will begin diving excursions of the shipwreck in May 2018.

“Far fewer people have visited the wreck of the Titanic than the number who have been to space or summited Mount Everest,” Elizabeth Ellis, Blue Marvel Private founder, wrote in a press release.

A first-class ticket to the original Titanic was $4,350, and eager tourists will now have to pay the same price, albeit adjusted for inflation, of around $105,000 to experience the famous shipwreck in the North Atlantic Ocean.

The hefty price tag includes a helicopter ride from Newfoundland, Canada to a private yacht, and a submarine ride to the Titanic. So far, nine clients are confirmed for the pricey journey.

By Shireen Khalil - News.com.au

Ever since a treasure trove of 170-year-old Champagne was salvaged by divers from a shipwreck at the bottom of the Baltic Sea in 2010, change has been afoot in the world of wine.

A handful of winemakers from around the world have forgone land-ageing techniques and started experimenting with underwater wine ageing. Among the 168 bottles of French bubbly that had aged in near perfect conditions, was Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, a well-known brand founded in 1772 that still exists today.

One of the four Veuves that were found sold for about $AU21,500. Experts discovered that the historic “Baltic wine” version contained lower alcohol content and higher sugar levels compared to the modern Veuve Clicquot.

Consistent temperature levels, salinity, and low light and oxygen contributed to the results.

Greek winemaker Iannis Paraskevopoulos decided to give it a go, submerging his 2009 Thalassitis dry white the same year the historic bubbly was discovered.

About four years later he dived 18 metres into the beautiful waters of the Aegean Sea near Santorini to rescue his 450 bottles. Sadly, only three survived. Despite the losses, it passed the tasting test, sparking the obvious question — did it taste salty ?

He instantly noted a distinct and disgusting aroma of old fishing nets. Fortunately, it was just the smell of the bottles. The one bottle he opened tasted awesome.

It didn’t take long for Australian winemaker Ben Portet to adopt the unique technique leading him to be the first and only in the country to release an underwater wine range.

Except he did it differently; rather than resorting to the whims of ocean and ageing individual bottles, he submerged entire barrels of wine in freshwater (via a rain water tank) held down by weights at his family-owned Yarra Valley winery, Dominique Portet.

Full story...

De Charlotte Paquet - Le Manic
 

Vingt ans après la fin des fouilles subaquatiques qui ont permis la découverte de l’épave du Elizabeth and Mary à Baie-Trinité, la Société historique de la Côte-Nord prépare l’exposition Phips, 1690 : vestiges de tempêtes pour faire connaitre le sort des artefacts prélevés et les secrets qu’ils ont révélés.

En collaboration avec le Centre de conservation du Québec, la Société historique a bien l’intention de prouver que même 20 ans plus tard, l’épave continue encore et toujours de raconter l’histoire.

Le navire Elizabeth and Mary faisait partie de la flotte de l’amiral William Phips. En novembre 1690 et à la hauteur de Baie-Trinité sur le fleuve Saint-Laurent, il avait été frappé durement par une tempête hivernale alors qu’il se dirigeait vers Boston à son retour de Québec. Trois autres navires étaient disparus lors du même événement.

Tout l'article...

By Gareth Wyn-Williams - The Daily Post

Plans to put treasure from a 19th-century shipwreck up for auction have been put on hold amid calls that they should instead be put on public display.

The widow of one of the divers who found the items at the Anglesey wreck of the Royal Charter had planned to sell the gold and jewellery, but other members of the group say they should be shown on the island.

The items, which have been valued at £4,000, were unearthed in the 1970s at the sunken ship, which smashed against rocks off Moelfre in a force 12 storm in October 1859.

John Leyland’s widow had planned to sell six sovereigns, one half sovereign, a nugget pin and eternity and signet rings at auction next month.

But auction house Halls has confirmed that the sale has been postponed, after some of the other divers called for the items to instead go on public display.

Peter Day, from Tynygongl near Benllech, was one of the divers who visited the wreck in 1972. He said: “We had an agreement with the authorities at the time that the group would be the custodian of the gold, and that no individual from the group could offer the items for sale without the express permission of all concerned.

“I and the other members of the group don’t want to sell the items to private individuals. “We think they should be added to the display at the RNLI Seawatch Centre at Moelfre, near the location of the tragedy.”

Full story...