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As reported on November 5, 2001, divers searching in shallow Caribbean waters have discovered the wreck of a Spanish galleon which archaeologists believe is part of the fleet used by Christopher Columbus on his final voyage to the Americas.
The vessel, found by national culture institute divers in six metres of water off the coast of Panama's Colon province, is thought to be La Vizcaina, one of the four ships that sailed on Columbus's fourth voyage in 1501. If it is confirmed to be La Vizcaina, it would be the first ship to be found from the early part of the Spanish Conquest.
The culture institute was alerted to the wreck when officials confiscated several stone cannonballs dating from the early 1500s from local divers in the nearby town of Portobelo in late October.
Officials of the institute, based in Panama City, said artefacts brought up from the site, including five cannon and a haul of pottery fragments, helped archaeologists date the wreck to the first wave of the Spanish Conquest.
Divers identified a swivel-mounted Lombards cannon lying on the salvage vessel's deck. Researchers say the early breach-loading weapons were used to arm Columbus's expeditions and help date the find.
"These things just blew out. They did more damage to the crew than the enemy did," said Mr. White, a Florida-based salvage diver. "The Spanish stopped using them after 1520."
Timbers raised from the hull also tell a tale. They were hammered together using wooden pegs common to shipbuilders in the 1400s, rather than being sealed in a protective lead sheet in line with early 16th centure Spanish directives.
"An order came from Seville in 1508 to line ships with lead to protect the hull from worms," said Mr White, who has more than four decades of experience as a diver. "There was no lead on this boat."
Found resting on a bed of white sand a few metres from the beach, the vessel had its anchors set ready to sail and had been stripped of mast bands, rigging blocks and the crew's possessions.
Found several kilometres east of the spot where the Vizcaina was recorded as having sunk, the wreck could also be a ship of conquistador Francisco Pizarro.
While divers continue to search for a signature nameplate, ship's bell or coin traditionally left by builders beneath the top mast to identify the wreck, food remains found at the site tell a tale of hunger.
Aged turtle bones, scallops and coconut shells indicate the mariners had exhausted food supplies and resorted to foraging.
"Columbus said the crew was starving and that the ship was in bad shape. Everything that we have found backs that up," Mr White said.
"If I were an investigating magistrate," Mr White continued, "I would say there was enought circumstantial evidence to charge Christopher Columbus with abandonment."
