US Firm Must Return Sunken Treasure: Spain

US firm tracks long-lost cargo

(NEWSER) - Here's an alternative way to fix the deficit: Find long-lost treasure beneath the waves. Sounds like a fairy tale, but the British government has contracted a US firm twice this year to track down the remnants of shipwrecks. One is the British steam ship Mantola that sunk in 1917, carrying 20 tons of silver—$18 million worth by today's standards, the New York Times reports. Odyssey Marine Exploration says it's identified the ship using a robot. More»

Mythical, tsunami-swamped city is off the coast of Spain

(NEWSER) - The mythical, ancient city of Atlantis was probably located just north of what is now Cadiz, on the southern coast of Spain, before it was swamped by a massive tsunami, according to a team of American researchers. Using a satellite photo of the marshlands of Dona Ana Park, along with deep-ground radar, digital mapping, and underwater technology throughout 2009 and 2010, researchers found an ancient city, buried in the mud. "This is the power of tsunamis," says head researcher Richard Freund. More»

Lawyers: US offered to trade Spain shipwreck gold for Nazi loot

(NEWSER) - It's the stuff of movies: An American diplomat offered to help Spain regain $500 million in sunken treasure in return for its help in recovering a Pissarro painting allegedly stolen by the Nazis. Or so say lawyers for Florida-based treasure-hunting firm Odyssey Marine Exploration, who point to cables released by WikiLeaks in which the US ambassador to Spain describes talks over the treasure, recovered by Odyssey in 2007 from the wreck of a galleon off the Spanish coast, and a Pissarro painting now in a Madrid museum that a California-based Jewish family says was stolen from them by Nazis in 1939. More»

Aristocrat though home's shabby state would deter thieves

(NEWSER) - Spanish aristocrat Jaume Grau-Pla's cunning strategy of hiding the family treasure in a derelict mansion he thought thieves would overlook didn't work. Loot worth an estimated $500 million, including jewels and relics dating back to the 12th century, was stolen from the Catalonia mansion by thieves tipped off by a part-time gardener who peeked through the windows, the Guardian reports. More»

(NEWSER) - A California man who used Google Earth to locate a 19th century Spanish treasure ship is suing for the right to excavate on private land, ABC News reports. Nathan Smith drove to Refugio, Texas, after spotting evidence—what it was isn’t clear—from a satellite photo. The case of Smith v. Abandoned Ship has landed in federal court, where his lawyer hopes maritime law will fall on their side. More»