Bom Jesus (ship)

The Bom Jesus was a Portuguese nau that set sail from Lisbon, Portugal, on Friday, March 7, 1533, and its fate was unknown until 2008. Its remains were discovered during diamond mining operations in 2006 on the coast near Oranjemund in Namibia.[1][2]

A geologist working for the De Beers diamond company discovered a copper ingot. An unusual trident-shaped mark on this aged metal was later identified as the hallmark of Anton Fugger, one of Renaissance Europe's wealthiest merchants. The ingots were used in trading for spices in the Indies in the first half of the 16th century. The shipwreck is the oldest and most valuable ever discovered on the coast of sub-Saharan Africa. The discovery was unusual in that all of the ship's contents were able to be recovered and cataloged without interference from scavengers due to the highly secure nature of De Beers mining operations. The cargo included 44,000 copper ingots which are credited with weighing the ship down and creating a deterrence to decaying insects and organisms; all of which helped to preserve the remains of the Bom Jesus.[3][4][5][6][7]

The identification of the ship is approximate due to the Portuguese archives being completely destroyed in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. Rare Portuguese coins were discovered in the wreck which were only minted from 1525 and 1538, helping to date and identify the vessel.[8] Work is underway to preserve and display the remains of the ship and all of its cargo in a public museum.[9]