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Argentine Diggers Find 18th-Century Galleon
300-year-old Spanish wreck found by team building Buenos Aires apartment block
By Rob Quinn
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Posted Dec 31, 08 10:16 AM CST
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(Newser)
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Workers digging the foundations for a riverside apartment complex in Buenos Aires stumbled across the buried wreck of an 18th-century Spanish galleon, Reuters reports. Experts believe the ship is at least 300 years old and was likely driven ashore by a storm and then buried in mud. Archaeologists are combing the area for remnants of the galleon's cargo.
"I don't think there's any treasure, but what there will be is a nice collection of artifacts," said one archeologist. So far several cannons have been discovered, along with several jugs probably used to hold olive oil. Construction of the building is to continue but the city's mayor promised that the unprecedented find would be preserved.