In Namibia, 1533 Portuguese shipwreck's relics hidden away

Diamond prospectors in Namibia nearly a decade ago stumbled upon remnants of a shipwrecked Portuguese vessel whose trading journey to India was cut violently short by a storm in 1533. Today the artifacts from the doomed ship, described by archaeologists as one of that era's most important finds, remain a hidden treasure.

In this photograph taken on Thursday, April 17, 2008, a worker holds gold coins from the wreck of a 16th century 
Portuguese ship that was discovered in a diamond-mining area on Namibia's Atlantic coast, in Oranjemund 
[Credit: Dieter Noli via AP]

Relics stored in a dimly lit warehouse at a diamond mine on Namibia's Atlantic coast include bronze cannons, copper ingots, eroded musket stocks, cracked ivory tusks and rusted sword sheaths, but they are seen by only a small number of visitors who navigate sealed doors and other stringent security features at the mine operated by Namdeb, a joint venture between Namibia and the De Beers company. More than 2,000 gold coins from the wreck, most of them Spanish and Portuguese, are in a central bank vault in Windhoek, the capital.

The remains of the ship owned by Portuguese King Joao III, identified by archaeologists as the Bom Jesus, are in limbo in this southern African country where many vessels foundered over the centuries on its treacherous coastline. While Namibia says it needs resources to preserve, restore and display the trove, some archaeologists believe political will is lacking and worry that the chance for valuable research and a tourism bonanza is closing as decay takes its toll.

"It would have been a wonderful bonus for the Namibian government," said Dieter Noli, who worked at the Bom Jesus excavation site, which had been safe from plunderers in a diamond-mining area called the Sperrgebiet, or "prohibited area" in German.

In this photograph taken on Tuesday, April 15, 2008, copper ingots from the wreck of a 16th century 
Portuguese ship lie in the sand shortly after the discovery of the relics in a diamond-mining area 
on Namibia's Atlantic coast. The ingots were to be traded for spices in India and were stamped 
with the trident symbol of a German trading house [Credit: Dieter Noli via AP]

The significance of the ship "lies in the fact that it is the only one from that time that is untouched, unlooted," Noli said. "Therefore, it offers a more complete window into the past."

Plans to open a Bom Jesus museum in the mining town of Oranjemund, near the shipwreck site, are languishing.

Namibia needs a sponsor to "kick-start" the museum project and Oranjemund has set aside land for it, said Esther Moombolah-Goagoses, head of Namibia's national museum, which oversees the shipwreck.

A Namibian government worker holds a brass medical syringe that was recovered from the wreck 
of a 16th century Portuguese ship, which was discovered in 2008 on Namibia's desolate Atlantic 
coastline, in Oranjemund, Namibia, Tuesday, June 13, 2017 [Credit: Chris Torchia, AP]

Mowa Eliot, a Namibian maritime archaeologist, said the discovery of the Bom Jesus was a "turning point" in Namibia's appreciation for maritime heritage and that the government is committed to conserving the remains.

Portugal decided not to reclaim possession of the artifacts "as the country whose flag it was flying under," the Portuguese culture ministry said in written responses to questions from The Associated Press. It said Portuguese teams assisted Namibian and Zimbabwean archaeologists working on the wreck in 2008 and 2009, and that it is in touch with Namibian authorities about staging a traveling exhibition of the finds in Windhoek and Portugal.

Portugal plans to hold a conservation and restoration course in Oranjemund and "is waiting to hear from Namibia about its training needs," the ministry said.

A Namibian government worker holds a pewter plate in a warehouse in Oranjemund, Namibia, Tuesday, June 13, 2017, 
where relics recovered from the wreck of a 16th century Portuguese ship, which was discovered in 2008, are stored.
 The artefacts are being kept at a high-security diamond mine in the while more than 2,000 Spanish and Portuguese 
gold coins were taken to a central bank vault in the Namibian capital, Windhoek [Credit: Chris Torchia, AP]

Since independence from white minority rule in 1990, Namibia has sought to reinforce national and indigenous culture, highlighting the long history of the San people as well as the brutal legacy of German colonizers. At the same time, it receives extensive funding from Germany and vigorously promotes itself as a destination for international tourists.

While the fate of the crew of the Bom Jesus is unknown, the ship's relics include pewter plates, cutlery handles, a brass medical syringe and goods that were to be traded for spices in India - ingots stamped with the trident symbol of a German trading house, and elephant ivory believed to have been transported from West Africa to Lisbon, the Portuguese capital. Wood planks from the ship's structure and weapon parts are kept in tanks of water, a conservation process that removes corrosion-causing salt.

Noli, the archaeologist, said the ingots are "quietly going green and are literally flaking away" while other materials such as wood and leather are slowly disintegrating. Three astrolabes, devices used for navigation, should be flown to Portugal for restoration and research, Noli said.

This photo taken Tuesday, June 13, 2017 shows diamond mine facilities in the town of Oranjemund, Namibia. Relic from
 the wreck of a 16th century Portuguese ship that was discovered in the area on Namibia's Atlantic coast are kept in a 
warehouse at the diamond mine, and plans to open a museum to display some of the artefacts are moving slowly 
[Credit: Chris Torchia, AP]

In a 2016 report, the Portuguese television channel RTP visited the Windhoek bank vault in hopes of seeing the stash of gold coins. In one awkward scene, Namibian officials standing in front of a padlocked safe box said to contain the gold say they can't open it because there is a problem with documents.

Alexandre Monteiro, an expert at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa in Portugal, said Namibia should ask UNESCO, the United Nations cultural body, to send a technical team to evaluate the artifacts.

"With every passing day, the opportunities we have to stop this process of degradation are diminishing," he said in the RTP report. "The Bom Jesus will indeed disappear in a few years' time if nothing gets done."

See also: Treasure-filled Portuguese shipwreck found in desert coastline of Namibia

Author: Christopher Torchia | Source: The Associated Press [September 15, 2017]