2 Spanish Cannons found on Mexican beach after hurricane
kevinstang
Posts: 1,518 ✭✭✭
Just saw a short piece on the Canadian CBC news about two Spanish cannons, believed to be off a long lost galleon being uncovered by workers clearing a beach site at one of the resorts hit by Dean last week. They didn't even look that deep, guess that beach was never hit by a anyone with a detector- imagine what else might be found there.... Hmn, just found this Reuters article which states three were actually found...link to article
Edited to add news story link
Edited to add news story link
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"...two Spanish cannons, believed to be off a long lost galleon"
I hope they're going TOO far out on a limb by coming to this conclusion!
I'm unable to open the link with my Albatross of a browser ;(
<< <i>Could someone _Please post the text of this article... I'm unable to open the link with my Albatross of a browser ;( >>
>>
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Hurricane Dean's rampage over Mexico's Caribbean coast last week unearthed three rusted 18th century cannons that had lain buried under a sandy beach for decades.<SPAN id=midArticle_byline></SPAN><SPAN id=midArticle_0></SPAN>
The cannons, around 1.80 meter (5.9 feet) long, were spotted poking through the sand on a beach near the arty resort of Tulum after Dean hit on August 21, Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said on Wednesday.<SPAN id=midArticle_1></SPAN>
Believed to be from a shipwrecked European galleon, the badly corroded cannons will be put back in to the sea to protect them from faster corrosion onshore and for scuba divers to enjoy, it said.<SPAN id=midArticle_2></SPAN>
"People started working to clear up the beach and they found three artifacts that were uncovered when sand was torn away by the strong winds that hit the region," INAH's director in the region, Adriana Velazquez, said in a statement.<SPAN id=midArticle_3></SPAN>
She could not be reached directly because of damage to telephone lines from Hurricane Dean.<SPAN id=midArticle_4></SPAN>
The cannons appeared just south of the clifftop Mayan ruins at Tulum, which INAH said were left intact by the Category 5 storm's 160 mph (256 kph) winds and lashing rains.<SPAN id=midArticle_5></SPAN>
Lying on what is now a bar-lined tourist haven, the cannons were a flashback to the centuries following Spain's 1521 conquest of Mexico, when fleets of Spanish galleons loaded with gold, silver and other New World plunder crossed the Caribbean, often with English, French or Dutch pirates in pursuit.<SPAN id=midArticle_6></SPAN>
The cannons are similar to others discovered in past years along Mexico's Caribbean coast and they appear to be more than 200 years old, Velazquez said.<SPAN id=midArticle_7></SPAN>
Their bad state of corrosion suggests they were taken out of the sea many years ago and left out in the salty air, she said.<<
Jerry
My first thought was "Bet these were props left over from the reality show "Pirate Master". aaarrggghh