500-Year-Old Treasure Ship Found in the Namibian Desert, Filled With Gold, Ivory and Precious Artifacts
In 2008, miners sifting through the sands of Namibia’s Sperrgebiet — a restricted diamond mining zone near the Skeleton Coast — stumbled upon what looked like wooden beams and rusted metal. What they had found, though, was far from ordinary: the remarkably well-preserved wreck of a 16th-century Portuguese ship, later identified as the Bom Jesus, lost at sea in 1533.
Buried beneath shifting desert dunes for nearly 500 years, the vessel had vanished en route to India. Now, thanks to Namibia’s state diamond company Namdeb and the forensic work of maritime archaeologist Dr. Dieter Noli, the wreck is considered one of the most significant nautical finds ever made in Africa. The discovery includes over 2,000 gold coins, ivory tusks, copper ingots and navigational instruments, offering a rare glimpse into the global trade dynamics of the early modern era.
“This is the oldest shipwreck ever discovered on the west coast of Sub-Saharan Africa,” said Dr. Noli, chief archaeologist at the Southern Africa Institute of Maritime Archaeological Research. “And it’s in phenomenal condition, thanks to the desert environment.”
A Treasure Trove From the Age of Discovery — Hidden in Plain SightThe Bom Jesus (Portuguese for “Good Jesus”) was a Portuguese carrack, a large ocean-going ship common during the Age of Exploration. It sailed under King João III during a period when Portugal dominated sea routes from Europe to Asia. Scholars believe a violent storm forced the vessel toward the perilous coast of southern Namibia, where it struck rocks and capsized. The ship — along with its crew and cargo — was swallowed by the sea, then by sand.
500-Year-Old Treasure Ship Found in the Namibian Desert, Filled With Gold, Ivory and Precious Artifacts
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