Off the Portuguese coast, in the unknown depths of the Atlantic, sleeps an invaluable heritage. Alexandre Monteiro, researcher at the History, Territories and Communities Institute at Nova University in Lisbon, devoted his life to bringing him out of the archives and the abyss. According to a report by The Herald News, the man has identified 8,620 wrecks, including 250 charged treasures with invaluable pecuniary and historical value.
Thanks to meticulous research mixing underwater dives and archive exam, Alexandre Monteiro has built a complete database. In total, he listed 7,500 wrecks off Continental Portugal, 1,000 around the Azores and 120 near Madeira, reports the media online scientific The Daily Galaxy. Dating after the year 1500, these ships form a engulfed memory of European maritime history. But faced with the absence of preservation measures, these riches are in danger.
Among the most striking discoveries is that of the Nossa Senhora of Rosário, a Spanish ship which sank in 1589 off the Tróia peninsula. According to the Portuguese researcher, period documents attest that the Spanish ship carried 22 tonnes of gold and silver. After four years of research, the archaeologist even went so far as to find the name of the captain’s mother. Other invisible wrecks must also sleep in sandy funds, relatively safe for the moment.
However, the threat is growing. Many sites can be found in areas of active or future port projects. Without coordination or adapted legislation, an accidental discovery could lead to looting or outright destruction of these historic ships. The researcher has been alerting for years, but his work has so far led to any coordinated protection or government action.
Pressure treasures
When the treasure hunters hit the door of the Azores regional government, the authorities were unaware of the magnitude of the hidden heritage. Alexandre Monteiro remembers: “We knew, we suspected, but our knowledge was zero.” Thanks to his work, this is no longer the case today.
In his eyes, the problem is not whether the wrecks engulfed can be located. “”If I spent a month on this project, he saysI would find the ship. “ The real question, according to him, is whether someone will be ready to protect these vestiges once discovered.
Monteiro’s long -term work is a strategic resource. Its database has not only a historical meaning, but also works as a cultural protection tool, especially in the face of a potential commercial exploitation. It is now up to the institutions to act, before the sand is swept by the excavators, and the treasures which they contain carried by the currents … or the looters.
