JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Deep in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Colombia lies a treasure valuable for what it is and the history it holds.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
More than 300 years ago, June of 1708, British forces attacked a Spanish treasure ship called the San Jose. This was during the War of the Spanish Succession.
SUMMERS: The British were trying to capture the treasure on board, but the ship ended up sinking near Cartagena and the treasure was lost.
DANIELA VARGAS: People had been searching for it because it was believed and historical sources told us about this incredible, valuable cargo.
KELLY: That is Daniela Vargas, a researcher at Colombia's Naval Cadet School and the National Institute of Anthropology and History. She says a group led by the Colombian government found the ship almost 10 years ago.
SUMMERS: New images from the site tell the story of what was lost. She says they found...
VARGAS: Jars, pots, plates. We have seen some teacups of Chinese porcelain.
KELLY: Gems, gold and silver coins - they could be worth billions in today's dollars. But Vargas and her team are particularly taken with new images that show not just the coins but what was engraved on some of them.
VARGAS: Castles and lions, the Jerusalem cross and the Columns of Hercules.
SUMMERS: All markers of coins from Spain. They also found coins from Lima, Peru and Bolivia.
KELLY: When news first broke of the ship's discovery, countries around the world tried to claim the treasure, but Colombia's Ministry of Culture has designated the site a protected archaeological area.
SUMMERS: Vargas said that her team doesn't want to see this as merely lost treasure but an opportunity to learn.
VARGAS: It's a really rare opportunity to find this wreck and to study it. It can tell us a lot about what was going on around the beginnings of the 18th century.
KELLY: No need to book a trip yet to visit. For now, all items will remain at the bottom of the sea while Vargas and her team continue to gather details.
(SOUNDBITE OF DAVID SOLIS' "HE'S A PIRATE & JACK SPARROW (FROM 'PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN')") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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