NAMIBIAN ANCIENT SHIPWRECK

When Kapaandu Shitake from Namdeb discovered two damaged bronze "pipes" at Mining Area 1 at Oranjemund he never would have guessed the importance of the find. The two bronze pipes were later identified  as cannon originated from a sixteenth century Portuguese shipwreck sunk off Oranjemund.
Soon afterwards other artifacts including copper ingots, elephant teeth, pieces of wood and gold coins were discovered.
Dr Dieter Noli an archaeologist and his colleague Dr Bruno Werz a marine archaeologist assisted in identifying the artifacts.
The cannon and majority of the coins were from Spanish origin. The view was rejected due to reliable historic and other archaeological reasons.
The notion that the wreck was Bartholomew Dias caravel, one of the ships in Pedro Allvares Cabrals fleet witch had gone astray in 1500 from Brazil to India was also rejected when a Portuguese coin was found which was struck during the reign of king Joao 111.
During the first phase of the archaeological recovery of the wreck 5438 artifacts  of priceless cultural and scientific value have been found. This include 2159 gold coins, 1845 copper ingots (with stamp of the German Fugger family), 109 silver coins, 67 elephant teeth, 14 cannon balls, 8 bronze cannon, 5 anchors, 3 quadrants, chains, 3 navigational compasses, part of a compass, tableware of tin and copper cooking utensils.
The copper weighed approximately twenty ton and the tin ingots 3,5 ton. Other items included various cast iron cannon, swords, rifles and a chest with sword blades.
Paulo Montero was credited with the possible date and identity of the wreck due to his research on the Portuguese 10 cruzado piece, a rare coin of pure gold struck between the reigns of king Manuel 1 and king Joao 111.

The Portuguese coins were struck in 1526 and were out of circulation by 1536 contributing to its rarity.The Spanish coins dated back to the reign of king Ferdinand and queen Isabella.

LOST TREASURE ALONG THE SOUTH AFRICAN COAST

Table Mountain Cape Town

Some of the wrecks on the coast of South Africa are known to have been carrying valuable merchandise. Over the last 5 centuries, more than a thousand ships have been lost around the coast. The sailors of the past were a fearless fraternity. Journeys by sea were measured in months or years. Ten percent of all ships that embarked on long voyages were lost. These wrecks will be found only by chance since  most of them are buried under deep sand or lie in restricted areas. Most of the fascinating wrecks lay beyond our reach. There exists no or very little evidence regarding the cargo it carried. The following wrecks may be located after painstaking archival research and laborious underwater exploration:

HNMS Amsterdam: Wrecked in Algoa Bay in 1817. It probably carried  a valuable consignment of treasure from Java for the king of the Netherlands. It lies in deep sand.

Brederode: Wrecked in Cape Agulhas in 1785. Carried a cargo of tin and Chinese Porcelain. Lies in deep water.

Dageraad: Lies within a restricted area on the west point of Robben Island. Wrecked in 1694 and was carrying chests of specie salvaged from the Gouden Buis.

New Haarlem: Wrecked in Table Bay in 1647. It also carried a large cargo of Chinese porcelain. Shards have been found on the beach near the Milnerton lighthouse.

RMS Kafir: Wrecked south of Olifantsbos Point in 1878. Carried a box of specie belonging to the Portuguese government.

Nossa Senhora dos Milagros: Was carrying a large amount of jewellery. Lies in deep sand.

Sao Goncalo Wrecked in Plettenberg Bay in 1630. Carried a large amount of Chinese porcelain. Lies buried beneath deep sand.

Timor: Lies within a restricted area. Wrecked on the southern tip of Robben island in 1856. Some was salvaged.

SS Waldensian: Wrecked on Struis Point in 1862. Mr Joe Brown a member of the Christy Minstrels lost a silver belt encrusted with precious stones.

Silver Rider dated 1662