The Spanish ghost ship that disappeared 4 centuries ago 'appeared' in the US

Scientists are racing to recover debris from the legendary ship Santo Cristo de Burgos, the inspiration for the 1985 movie "The Goonies".

The Spanish ship had in fact disappeared during an unfortunate voyage around 1693, in the late 17th century, while carrying Chinese porcelain, beeswax, and silk to Oregon.

Scientists are excavating the wreck of a ghost ship missing from the 17th century

A document from 1813 mentions a shipwreck of a Spanish ship in the Neahkahnie Mountains in the area, but does not help identify the ship. But there's another mystery and reality: Unidentified beeswax blocks have washed ashore since the 19th century.

Several pieces of Chinese porcelain were also collected by the fishermen, identified as porcelain from the Kangxi period. This indicates that they either belonged to the Santo Cristo de Burgo and the other to the San Francisco Xavier that went missing in 1705.

A piece of beeswax with the owner's mark, helping to reveal the ghost ship's identity

In 2020, a fisherman reported some strange wood found in a sea cave. Scientists have brought them back for laboratory analysis. To date, the results of dating based on carbon isotopes and a number of other analytical results have helped confirm the identity of the ship.

Over the past week, archaeologists, authorities and local search and rescue teams have been working to recover more pieces of the ghost ship. Scientists believe that this wood has been swept far away from the wreck, washed up in a cave, and the real location of the ghost ship is still a mystery.

The search for the remains of the Santo Cristo de Burgos continues. The excavated artifacts are kept at the Columbia River Maritime Museum.