8620 sunken treasure ships discovered in Portuguese waters

Sensational discovery: archaeologist found 8620 sunken ships off the coast of Portugal, hundreds of them may contain immeasurable treasures. The large-scale research covered the coastal waters of the mainland, as well as the waters of the Azores and Madeira, reports Yahoo News.

Alexandre Monteiro, a scientist from Nova University in Lisbon, presented impressive results of many years of work, based on a carefully compiled database of shipwrecks dating back to the 1500s. "During the research, I documented about 7500 sunken vessels along the mainland coast, another 1000 in the area of the Azores, and 120 near Madeira," he shared with the Portuguese news agency Lusa.

According to Monteiro's estimates, approximately 250 ships in Portuguese territorial waters may hide real treasures. "Off the coast of Troia lies a Spanish vessel built in 1589 - Nossa Senhora do Rosário. I managed to study its history in detail, I even found out the name of the captain's mother. According to preserved official documents, a colossal wealth was transported on board - 22 tons of gold and silver," the researcher said.

When the scientist was asked about the authorities' reaction to his discovery, Monteiro replied that despite the publication of the data, no action was taken by the government. At the same time, he dispelled concerns about possible raids by treasure hunters: "This is extremely unlikely, as most of the wreckage is securely buried under a thick layer of sand."

Earlier, the scientific community was stirred by another high-profile discovery - off the coast of Australia, scientists discovered a sunken city, already dubbed the new Atlantis, which in ancient times, according to experts, was inhabited by hundreds of thousands of people.