Scientists are racing to recover fragments from the legendary ship Santo Cristo de Burgos, the inspiration for the 1985 film “The Goonies.”
The Spanish ship actually disappeared during an unfortunate voyage around 1693, at the end of the 17th century, while transporting porcelain, beeswax, and Chinese silk to Oregon.
Scientists excavating the lost ghost ship from the 17th century – (Photo: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC)
A document written in 1813 mentions a Spanish ship that sank near Neahkahnie Mountain in the area, but it did not help in identifying the vessel. However, there is another mystery: unidentified beeswax blocks that have washed ashore since the 19th century.
Several pieces of Chinese porcelain have also been collected by fishermen, identified as Qing Dynasty porcelain. This suggests that they either belong to the Santo Cristo de Burgos or the ship San Francisco Xavier, which went missing in 1705.
A piece of beeswax with the owner’s mark, revealing the identity of the ghost ship – (Photo: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC)
In 2020, a fisherman reported finding some unusual wood in a sea cave. Scientists brought the wood back for laboratory analysis. So far, radiocarbon dating results and other analyses have helped confirm the identity of the ship.
Last week, archaeologists, local authorities, and search and rescue teams worked to recover more fragments of the ghost ship. Scientists believe the wood has drifted quite far from the shipwreck, ending up in the cave, while the actual location of the ghost ship remains a mystery.
The search for the remains of the Santo Cristo de Burgos continues. The excavated artifacts are being preserved at the Columbia River Maritime Museum.
