A team of international archaeologists is working round the clock to rescue the wreck of what is thought to be a 16th Century Portuguese trading ship that lay undisturbed for hundreds of years off Namibia's Atlantic coast.
Bruno Werz and remains of the shipwreck on Namibia's coast Bruno Werz says the shipwreck was untouched
The shipwreck, uncovered in an area drained for diamond mining, has revealed a cargo of metal cannonballs, chunks of wooden hull, imprints of swords, copper ingots and elephant tusks.
It was found in April when a crane driver from the diamond mining company Namdeb spotted some coins.
...
Gold coins that the Portuguese crown began producing in October 1525 mean it could not have been the vessel of the famous seafarer Bartholomew Dias, who disappeared on one of his travels around the point of Africa in the year 1500.
But there are other pointers, including swivel-guns known to have been used by Portuguese and Spanish seafarers, and the boat's shape, indicating that it was a Portuguese "nau".
There are also copper ingots carrying a clearly visible trident seal that can be traced back to the German banker and merchant family of Jakob Fugger - the main suppliers of primary materials to the Portuguese crown.
Gold and silver coins have been deposited in a bank vault.
Parts of wooden hull and a cannonball Parts of the hull and cannonballs are protected by plastic
Rare navigational instruments have been sent to Portugal for research, while pewter plates and jugs, pieces of ceramic, tin blocks and elephant tusks are temporarily housed in a warehouse on the premises of the mining company.
Some are being freed of their layer of sand and salt to allow for more detailed scrutiny over their make and origin.
"It represents a very interesting cargo - we have goods from Asia, we have goods from Europe, we have goods from Africa," said Mr Ndoro.
"We always think that globalisation started yesterday but in actual fact here we are with something we can date to around 1500."
Very cool! Thanks for posting that, Ron. I always love the results of such archaeological finds, as it almost always expands our knowledge of just what was happening, when. Or at least it tells us that what we "know" is indeed on the right track or not.
Cheers!
Gordon
"He who wields the sword will be first served"
Charles Napier
"We always think that globalisation started yesterday but in actual fact here we are with something we can date to around 1500."
Har. Globalization's earliest stirrings were about when somebody backpacked a sackful of excellent flints and some pretty spearpoints sixty miles to trade for some premium bearskins better than he could get around home. It's hard to put a lower limit on globalization's range of travel for trade. Nowadays all that's really different is the reach.
The world is global since the born of human kind, it's just a matter of time.
Years ago I've read that people in the north of europe had jewels made with stone that came from egypt, so, in someway, someone carried them there. Maybe nomad population took years, but goods traveled even when there where no roads.
Respectfully, I disagree. These are people trading in order to get things they couldn't possibly obtain at home. Different than merely trading for a quality advantage.
