Wood found in the United States could be a shipwreck that inspired “The Goonies”

Steven Spielberg’s cult classic directed by Richard Donner tells the story of friends who venture in search of the lost treasure.

When archaeologists entered caves along the Oregon coast last month, they found no evidence of the pirate ship Inferno or its captain, One-Eyed Willie. But they did locate a dozen pieces of wood believed to come from the sunken 17th-century Spanish galleon that inspired the film. the Goonies (1985) by Steven Spielberg, which featured the fictional pirate and his ship laden with treasures.

“Just woods,” said Scott Williams, president of the Maritime Archaeological Society. He and his team recovered the material in mid-June on an archaeological expedition that wouldn’t have been out of place Indiana Jones – another Spielberg creation.

“The caves are incredibly difficult to access,” he said. “They are located on a beach that is only accessible at high tide, and it is difficult to reach on foot in the midst of landslides and fields of boulders.”

The find continues to fuel the search for the wreck of the Santo Cristo de Burgos, a Spanish galleon that disappeared in the Pacific Ocean in 1693. Historians say it may have sunk off the coast of present-day Oregon, where objects on the ship believed to have landed are found. For centuries.

The idea of ​​a missing ship appears the Gooniesa cult classic protagonist Sean Astin, Josh Brolin And Corey Feldman like a group of children looking for treasure after discovering a long-lost map.

According to a spokesperson for Amblin ProductionsSpielberg’s company, the film magnate used the story of Santo Cristo de Burgos as inspiration for the film, which takes place in Astoria, Oregon, near the place where the woods and other artifacts were discovered.

In the Goonies, the pirate ship Inferno breaks free from its hiding place and sails unmanned to unknown places. In fact, the 105-foot film prop was destroyed after filming was completed.

What exactly happened to Santo Cristo de Burgos in 1693 is a mystery. The ship simply disappeared during a voyage from Manila to Acapulco, Mexico, a common trade route for Spanish traders at the time. The ship was known for carrying a cargo of beeswax to make candles, rare silks, and Chinese porcelain.

For two centuries, researchers have found evidence of a shipwreck off the Oregon coast, fueling the belief that the Santo Cristo de Burgos was blown off course by a storm and capsized nearby. According to a story by National Geographic, the oral histories of local indigenous tribes are reminiscent of a shipwreck from long ago. Beeswax blocks bearing Spanish markings and broken pieces of porcelain have run aground near Astoria since the early 1700s, Williams said.

“Both offer strong evidence that it was a Spanish galleon,” he said. “Chinese porcelain is important. It was a luxury item in which the designs changed every 10 or 20 years. We can say that this porcelain was made between 1680 and 1700, which helps us to date the sinking of the ship.” .

For 15 years, archaeologists have been trying to find what is now known as the Beeswax shipwreck. Recently, a local fisherman found old-looking wood on an Oregon beach, prompting him to search nearby caves for more seasoned wood. Immediately, people started saying that the 12 woods discovered last month – one nearly eight feet long – came from Santo Cristo de Burgos. But are they?

“We’re 90 percent sure they are, but there’s nothing definitive to confirm it came from the ship that disappeared in 1693,” said Williams, who is also Washington State’s head of cultural resources program.

“It’s a kind of ship built in Asia or perhaps South America, as would have been the case with the Santo Cristo de Burgos,” which is believed to have been built in a Spanish port on the Pacific Ocean, Williams said. “There is a possibility that it is an unknown shipwreck, but the odds are slim. The simplest explanation is that these woods are part of the galleon.”

So the rest of Santo Cristo de Burgos would still be on the Oregon coast? Williams hopes so. His team at the Maritime Archaeological Society, a volunteer organization that documents shipwrecks and studies maritime history in the Pacific Northwest, plans to do more research.

“The area is part of a marine reserve, so we can’t go inside and start digging,” he says. “However, we plan to do some dives during the summer. We also have a remotely operated underwater vehicle with a camera and we will try to do it at sea.”

What remains of the wreck is probably submerged in sand, making it difficult to locate. Williams hopes his team will find something that proves he’s the Spanish galleon.

“Let’s hope one of our divers encounters a Spanish gun on the ocean floor,” he jokes. “That would be very exciting!”

If they find the wreck, perhaps it will provide Spielberg with inspiration to make a sequel to the 1985 film. The film’s producer and director, who declined an interview request via his company’s spokesperson, has said for years that he wants to make The Goonies 2, but the timing was never right.

To quote a classic line from the film, “The goonies never say death!” Apparently, not even the legend of the Santo Cristo de Burgos.

Source: Terra

Emily

Emily Jhon is a product and service reviewer at Gossipify, known for her honest evaluations and thorough analysis. With a background in marketing and consumer research, she offers valuable insights to readers. She has been writing for Gossipify for several years and has a degree in Marketing and Consumer Research from the University of Oxford.