Underwater Archeology of the Atocha

Nuestra Señora de Atocha 

Abstract 

The Atocha was a Spanish Galleon that sailed under King Philip the IV rule. The ship collected silver bars and coins to fund the 30- year war and to keep Spain as a dominant European power. In 1622, a hurricane storm off the coast of Florida sunk the Atocha. Nunez Melian attempted to salvage valuables from the Atocha, but few things were recovered. Mel Fisher did not recover the Atocha until 1971, which resulted in legal litigations between the state of Florida and the Mel Fisher salvage team. The issue in question was who owned the title to the Atocha and the artifacts found. The court ruled that the Atocha belonged to Mel Fishers and his team. The team took precautions and carefully searched, surveyed, mapped, excavated, preserved and conserved many of the artifacts recovered on the ship. The ships contents have been studied including the remains of a lizard that may be a close relative to the Cuban brown anole. Mel Fisher later opened a museum where the Atocha and all of her contents are on display. 

Synopsis of Paper

The Nuestra Señora de Atocha, was a Spanish Galleon that sailed the western hemisphere in 1622 (figure 1). That year she sunk, carrying 47 tons of silver and gold to the bottom of the sea floor. The gold and silver the Atocha carried came from the Podessa Mountain in South America. On the Podessa Mountain, the habitants had their own mint and made coins out of the silver that was harvested from the mountain. They measured the coins to weigh one ounce, the equivalence of about one dollar. Silver bars weighting eight-five pounds were also made. Spain sent the Atocha and twenty-seven other ships to collect the coins and bars made from the Americas twice a year. Together the twenty-eight ships made up the Tierra Ferma Fleet. Of these twenty- eight ships, three carried the bulk of the treasure; The Atocha being one of them carried these riches back to Spain (Clyne 2010). 

Once the coins and bars were loaded onto the ships, the fleet would move from Podessa Mountain to Cuba Havanah Port, and then to the Florida Straight. Tierra Ferma Fleet took this course of direction because the Gulf Stream current is strong enough to push them to their next stop. However, in times of hurricane the Gulf Stream can be very hazardous. The Gulf Stream can reach 30 to 120 knots and have 40 to 60 foot seas in times of hurricane. In 1622, hurricane conditions in the Gulf Stream sunk the Atocha (Clyne 2010).

The current grew stronger and the waves grew taller in the ocean making deck life very dangerous for the crew because a surge could sweep across the deck of the ship. Many shipmates tried to go below deck of the ship to ensure their safety. However, there was not enough room below the Atocha for the 387 passengers (Stall, 1986) because the cargo of silver bars and coins took up much of the space.

People decided to move to the highest part of the boat, the stern castle. Waves crushed and swept crewmembers off the ship as roped and masts fell. The ship lost control and came too close to a reef. As the ship hit the reef, the rudder broke off. Crewmembers tried to drop the seventeen-foot long anchor to help slow the ship down, but the line snapped in half (Clyne 2010).

Waves pushed the Atocha back into coral reef and she hit again with the nose of the ship. The galleon began to take on water and when the second wave hit the Atocha went straight down to the bottom (Clyne 2010).

At a distance, the rest of the Tierre Firme Fleet watched as a lantern on the Atocha sunk into the sea. Soon after the Atocha sank, the Santa Margarita went down. In the hurricane storm, six ships were lost out of the twenty-eight that had made the journey (Clyne 2010).

A salvage effort went out to recover any remains of the Atocha. The salvagers found five people hanging on the ships mast that was sticking out of the water. The five survivors hung on the mast for five days before they were found. In order to survive they caught seagulls to eat (Clyne 2010).

The Spanish king sent pearl divers from the Island Migrate to see what could be salvaged from the wreck (Clyne 2010). They found that the ship was intact but all the hatches were battened. They were only able to recover two bronze canyons (Garabello 2003). The hatches were battened during the storm to protect the crewmembers, but were unable to be opened once the ship sunk (Clyne 2010). The pearl divers left the site to retrieve their tools so they could enter the ship and salvage the riches. They left buoys at the site in order to find the Atocha’s location (Clyne 2010). When they were gone, another hurricane hit and the buoys and the Atocha were lost. They set up a bass camp and searched for the Atocha everyday for fifty years (Clyne 2010).

In 1971, Mel Fisher and his salvage group recovered the Atocha in shallow waters off the coast of Florida. The water was relatively shallow and ship was covered in sand, mud, and grass but Mel Fisher and his team were able to recover and document the Atocha and her riches (Clyne 2010).

Why Resource is Important or of Historical Significance

The Atocha was built in Havana, Cuba as a treasure galleon and was a part of an annual fleet from Spain to the Americas (Saunders 2005).This Spanish ship was extremely important to Spanish history because it carried good that Spain desperately needed to fund the 30- year war (Greenberg 2010).

In 1492, Spain became one of the most powerful nations in Europe after she discovered the new world and its riches. Spain was able to expand their empire to the Americas and become a dominant power in the European world. In order to stay in power Spain needed to protect her new founded western hemisphere. Spain did this by taxing goods sent to the other European countries (Mathewson 1986).

Spain not only received money from the new tax but also from the Spanish American who harvested goods from agriculture, metals, and gems (Mathewson 1986).

As Spain became a more dominant figure, she began to take on European adventures. In 1621, 16-year-old Philip IV became king (figure 2). He controlled territories on four continents and led a mission to wipe out Protestantism and make Catholicism the dominant religion. These adventures created a huge debt that was paid for by the trade with the Indies and the tax on goods (Mathewson 1986).

European nations began to challenge Spain. The Dutch attacked Spanish cargo ships, while the English and French challenged Spain’s claim to the new world. Other challenges that plagued Spain were Spanish merchants who began to smuggle goods and take bribes to avoid paying the 20% tax. This caused Spain to lose funds (Mathewson 1986).

In order to avoid revenue losses Spain established a regulatory agency in 1503 called the Casa de Contrastacion. The Casa de Contrastacion oversaw the finances and the navigation of ships. The agency put a clerk on each ship that had to maintain records of all cargo loaded and unloaded. In 1510, Spain also enacted a law that said if a smuggler were caught, they would have to forfeit their contraband and pay a fine four times its value. This kept merchants and other crewmembers from smuggling any good on the ship (Mathewson 1986).

Spain also decided that all ships would have to sail in convoys to avoid and protect against Dutch attacks. This meant that warships known as galleons escorted all merchant ships. In addition, two strong galleons are chosen, where one is the captina, which leads the convoy, and the other is the almiranta, which covers the rear of the convoy and protected against raiders (Mathewson 1986).

Each Spanish fleet sailed to a specific location. The Atocha was a part of the Tierra Firma fleet and her orders were too load silver and gold from Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Colombia at ports in Portobello and Cartagena. The ship would then go to Havana, Cuba where it was loaded with Copper from the King’s mines. The galleons carried the bulk of the gold and silver while the merchant ships carried agricultural goods. It was very important that all of the gold and silver make it back to Spain in 1622 because the Royal Treasury was running low on funds and needed more money for the war (Mathewson 1986).

Spain would have to be patient because the fleet could not leave until late spring or early summer because hurricanes fill the waters in the late summer making voyages very dangerous. The Tierra Firma Fleet started their voyage on March 23, 1622. They traveled to Portobello in Panama, Cartagena in Colombia and the island of Dominica (figure 3). During the fleets travels 36 Dutch Warships were at the Araya saltpans on the North Coast of South America awaiting the arrival of the Spanish fleet so they could attack. Marquis of Cadereita, the commander of the Guard fleet heard the news and led the fleet to Cuba on August 3 for protection. The fleet however did not arrive in Havana until August 22 making them 6 weeks behind schedule and in the midst of hurricane season (Mathewson 1986).

Marquis decided to split the fleet into two parts, and put one and a half million pesos worth of treasure into the Atocha. He then assigned the Atocha to be the Almiranta and sail last to protect the merchant ships. The fleet left September 5 in hopes of shaking the Dutch war ships and being out of hurricanes reaches. The fleets’ goal was to make it back to Spain with riches to fund the war and put Spain back on her feet (Mathewson 1986).

This was not the case and the Atocha along with many other ships in the Tierra Firma Fleet perished. Spain took a huge financial hit with the loss of the fleet and all of her goods. In order to keep war efforts ongoing Spain had to borrow more money from bankers and sell several galleons to raise funds. The Spanish authorities needed the goods on the Atocha so they sent out five ships to salvage the cargo and guns. A second hurricane squashed the salvage attempt as it came through and scattered the wreck. If the Atocha was not salvaged all of the silver and gold on the Atocha would never be shipped to Spain or used to finance the 30-year war (Mathewson 1986).

This loss was not acceptable and in 1624, Spain granted a contract to Nunez Melian to salvage the Atocha (figure 4). He planned to use a 680-pound copper diving bell cast to search for the silver bars and coins from the Atocha. His plan paid off because Juan Banon spotted the wreck through the bell’s window, however the wreck they had found was the Santa Margarita the Atocha’s sister ship. News of the ships finds spread throughout Europe. The Dutch sent ships to the Caribbean in order to interrupt Melians work and collect some of the money so Spain could not get it. With the interruptions, Melian and his men were still able to recover 380 silver ingots, 67000 silver coins, and eight bronze cannons (Mathewson 1986).

Melians survey however failed to find the Atocha’s riches, which left Spain with little fortune and more debt. Spain was unable to finance the war and slowly lost land in the Americas to the English, Dutch, and French. If the Atocha did not sink in the hurricane and had made it to Spain, the conclusion of the 30-year war may have ended differently, with Spain being on top and acting as the dominant figure throughout Europe and the Americas (Mathewson 1986).

Legal Aspects

Mel Fisher and his team were the finders of the Atocha and spent over $7 million dollars in the salvaging operations of her recovery. Mel Fisher believed that Spain abandoned the ship and as the finder would receive ownership of the Atocha and all of her possessions. The United States however claimed that the ship and her contents were in state territory and therefore belonged to the state and not the finders. Since Florida State believed they owned the artifacts found, they took many of the items salvaged by Mel Fisher and placed state agents on board Mel Fisher’s boat to ensure that he and his crew were not keeping any of the riches (Garabello 2003).

United States District Court for Southern District of Florida took on this case of ownership. On February 3, 1976, the court found that the title of the ship and her contents belonged to the finder of the wreck. The decision was confirmed on March 13, 1978 by the United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, where they concluded that the ship belong to Mel Fisher based on the Law of Finds. The Law of Finds states that if the property is abounded the title goes to the finder or salver as long as the salver exercises due diligence. However, if the property is embedded in the subsoil it belongs to the landowner. The United States then claimed that no marine peril existed in regards to the Atocha and that the application of salvage by Mel Fisher and his team did not exist. The court said marine peril not only includes threats from storms, fire, or piracy, but also includes the loss of the vessel. Since the Atocha had been lost, Mel Fisher and his team had the right to find her and salvage her (Garabello 2003).

The Division of Archives of the State of Florida removed many artifacts from Mel Fisher, and he sought restitution. The finders had made a contract with the State of Florida that stated that 75% of the total appraised value of all materials recovered belonged to them, while the other 25% of valued materials went to the state. Mel Fisher’s group and Florida made this contract under the belief that Florida had owned the territory where the Atocha was found. This was not the case and in 1975, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the part of the continental shelf that the Atocha laid on was never owned by the State of Florida. This ruling meant that the contract between Mel Fisher and the State of Florida was invalid and that all of the appraised value of all the material belonged to the finder. Florida was wrongfully withholding artifacts of the Atocha and had to return them to Mel Fisher and his team. The United States of Appeals, Fifth Circuit in July 24, 1980 and the United States Supreme Court July 1, 1982 yet again confirmed the decision (Garabello 2003).

Another case was legated between Treasure Salvors, Inc., and Armada Research Corp. and a different salver out of Key West. Both groups competed to salvage the ship and the artifacts and believed that only one team had the right to. The Untied States District Court, Southern District of Florida ruled on July 2, 1981 that permanent harm and injury would be caused to the ship if other salvers were permitted to salvage through the Atocha. They also believed that Treasure Salvors, Inc., and Armada Research Corp. had exercised due diligence by making archeological and historical efforts in order to preserve the site of the wreck. The district court prohibited competing salvers from interfering with the activities of the Treasure Salvors, Inc., and Armada Research Corp. Competing salvers were not allowed within a 13.3 square mile radius of the wreck site (Garabello 2003). This meant that Mel Fisher and his team could continue the salvage effort without interruptions.

Research Accomplished Prior To Resource Location

The Atocha was a known ship, but her whereabouts was unknown. Documents that described this particular wreck were needed in order to determine the location of the ship. The documents needed to include a general location so that electronic or visual surveys could be used to locate the ship and her contents.

The person in charge of doing the research on the Atocha’s whereabouts was Eugene Lyon, a researcher who worked for Mel Fisher. In order to start his research in 1969 he went to Seville, Spain and searched in the Archives of the Indies, where records of the Atocha had been compiled (figure 6). In these archives he found the Atocha’s manifest, construction records, a description of her armaments, a list of her casualties, and records from the Spanish attempts to recover the Atocha's treasure over a period of 60 years (Lyon 1987).

His main goal however was to find the location of the Atocha. Treasure hunters who started to gather information on the Atocha believed that she was located in the upper and lower Matecumbe of the Central Keys. In Lyons research he too found that the location “cayos de Matecumbe” was a term used a lot in texts. However he found another locations that was used in the text that referenced “cayos de Marquez” named for the Marquis. He did a map comparison and believed that the text was actually talking about the Modern Marquesas Keys. Further research gave descriptions of salvage attempts done by the Spaniards from 1622 to 1679. These salvagers believed that the lower hull of the Atocha lay in a depth of 54 feet, like the depth it had originally sunk in (Lyon 1987). Unlike other treasure hunters who believe the Atocha would be found in Matecumbe, Lyon believed that the location of the Atocha would be found in the shallow waters in the Modern Marquesas Keys.

Lyons told Mel Fisher his hypothesis and Fisher moved his operation from the central Florida Keys to the Marquesas in 1970. After the change in location, Fisher started to find evidence of a ship. He had pulled up an anchor and many other artifacts giving evidence that there was a ship down on the bottom. However, the question remained if the items salvaged belonged to the Atocha (Lyon 1987).

The next step was to determine if the ship Mel Fisher had found was in fact the Atocha, and not another ship that had sunk there. Coins found on the site were dated 1622, which was the year the Atocha sunk. The coins only gave a general sense that the ship was the Atocha since she sailed in 1622, but more research had to be done to conclude that the ship found was actually the Atocha. Muskets, swords, daggers, and quartzite stone cannonballs were recovered on the site and research found that the artifacts were identical to those listed on the arms list of the Atocha (Lyon 1987).

Lyons found documents that explained that ingots were shipped tied to discrete numerical series of their casts. He also found that each bar had a serial numbers cut into it. So in 1973 when three silver ingots were found their serial numbers were compared to the logs on the Atocha ship records. He found that one of the bars found had a multipoint match to the manifest data. The serial number and ley number on the bar found was a direct match to one of the bars on the manifest records (Lyon 1987).

In 1975, nine bronze cannons were found and Lyon compared them to the ships documents. In the documents, a weight number cast listed each cannon and when compared to the cannons he found that the markings matched the weight numbers perfectly (figure 7). This gave further evidence that the cannons belonged to the Atocha and that the ship they found was the Atocha. (Lyon 1987).

Lyons research led Mel Fisher to the Atocha site. His research also made it possible to identify artifact found at the site to be from the Atocha by comparing the artifacts to cargo logs kept on the Atocha that were found in the Archives of the Indies.

Search Techniques/ Equipment Used

The search team for the Atocha used side scan sonar, multi-beam echo sounder, magnetometer and metal detector in order to find the location of the sunken galleon.

The side scan sonar is an acoustic equipment that has long range and excellent coverage. It is able to detect and discriminate between targets very well and has a moderate cost to purchase and survey. That is why it is one of the most widely used pieces of equipment used to identify things underwater.

The side scan sonar works by creating an image of the sea floor by measuring the strength of the echo it sends out. It then takes the data collected and puts it together to form a picture. Soft areas on the sea floor absorb more sound and therefore giver a softer and lower return signal than a harder area would. In the picture, the softer areas would be lighter then the harder areas as well. The side scan sonar can also pick up shadows in the picture; this is because objects that rise above the sea floor create shadows where no sound is able to hit. The shadow formed in the picture can be used to determine the objects size (NOAA 2008).

Multi-beam echo sounder was also used to search for the Atocha. It is also an acoustic instrument and has medium range and very good coverage. It is very good at detecting a target but is average at discriminating what the target is. It is also very expensive to buy and use to survey.

The multi-beam echo sounder works by measuring the depth of the sea floor. It does this by measuring the length of time it takes for the sound to travel from the boat to the sea floor and back. It takes the data collected and creates a rainbow colored image of the seafloor. The red in the image shoes shallow depths where as blue and purple show deeper depths (NOAA 2008). This means that if an image is showing blue, purple, and something red is seen it may be an object on the sea floor.

Crewmembers used a magnetometer during the search of the Atocha. It is an electromagnetic instrument has medium ranger and very good coverage. It is also able to see buried targets. Its detection is very good but its decimation is poor. Its cost to buy and cost to survey is moderate. In the ocean magnetometer are used to detect the variation in magnetic field of the underlying sea floor.

A metal detector was also used to search for items on specific parts of the seafloor. Metal detectors are electromagnetic equipment and have an ultra short range and very poor coverage. They are able to find buried targets and have very good detection but average discrimination. They also are inexpensive to buy, but very expensive to survey. These were used in areas where artifacts have already been found and are able to search and find things in these areas more easily.

Using this equipment 125000 square linear miles were covered and mapped out trying to find the Atocha. This took a long time because a technique called mowing the lawn was used. A grid type system is used where the boat follows an imaginary line while the side scan sonar, multi-beam echo sounder and magnetometer collect data from the ground below. After the ship has traveled down all the lines, the images are compiled from all the different equipment and then compared to see if any objects were found on the seafloor. In the case of the Atocha, they were able to find the one Spanish galleon anchor based on a peg hit from the magnetometer (Clyne 2010).

Survey Techniques/ Mapping Description

When instruments like the side scan sonar, multi beam echo sounder, magnetometer and metal detector register a hit or show that an object is on the floor bed and could be a ship or artifacts of a ship divers go down to investigate. When the Spanish galleon anchor was discovered using the magnetometer, Don Kincaid, a diver and photographer, was sent down to survey the area and he found a seven foot gold chain under one of the anchors flukes. These finding led to further surveying and mapping of the site Clyne 2010).

Divers begin to survey the site by hand and building a PVC grid system. The grid systems can be different sized depending on the amount of space needed to cover. A cage camera takes pictures of the entire grid at each section making sure there is a 30-degree overlap between the photos. This allows the entire site to be mapped out using the pictures from the grid systems to form a collage type map.

Trilateration is another technique that was used on the Atocha site. This method determines the relative location of an object by measuring the distance from points using the geometry of spheres or triangles. At the Atocha site, over 20 datum points were placed in the grid. One datum point was placed at the anchor site that was found during the search for the Atocha. The datum is the center of the site where most of the artifacts are located. At the Atocha site, the distance was measured between many of the datum points to give a relative scale of the distances between objects found on the seafloor (Wilson 2010).

A barring circle was then made around the datums to find artifacts. Once an artifact was found the range, distance and bearing of where it was found was collected by measuring two or three spots on each artifact to three datum points. The dimensions of the artifact were then recorded. In order to do this the artifact were trilaterated at each end from nearby datum points and the length, width, height of the artifact were recorded. Finally, dive computers determine the depth of where the artifact was found. All of this data was then entered into a computer to generate a three dimensional map of all the artifacts found and where specifically they were found on the Atocha site (Wilson 2010).

When an artifact was found underwater, it was given a float that had a number on it that told the number of the artifact. This made it easier to catalog artifacts that had been found and map them.

These techniques are very important to follow through on because they lead to the findings of other artifacts on the site. Once the anchor was found, a grid system was set up around it and search within the barring circle was made. Dirk fisher was able to find a bronze astrolabe from the site. This piece was useful to the Spanish sailor because it determined their location on the sea. Kim Fisher was also able to locate a gold poison cup, which was said to absorb poison so the King would not die. Dirk Fisher also discovered five bronze cannons. When these were found, a photo grid was placed over them and pictures were taken so their location would be documented. More artifacts like these were found and mapped based on the grid system.

Excavation/ Resources and Artifact Recovery

The excavation of the Atocha site included the use of the mailbox, which was invented by Mel Fisher. It was a large elbow-shaped pipe that was made to swing into place. The mailbox was made of an aluminum shaped tube that had a 90-degree elbow. When the mailbox was lowered over the propeller, it would deflect the prop wash down to the bottom (figure 9). When the mailbox was in use, a diver would be at the bottom while someone on the ship throttles the engine to increase the prop’s rpm. This pushed the clear water from the surface toward the bottom, which allowed visibility to increase. The mailbox also allowed large amount of sand to be moved which meant hand fanning would not be needed as often. Hand fanning was also used on the Atocha site. This is where the hand is waved back and forth to fan away sand around an object. The mailbox proved to be the best option (Clyne 2010). The first time the mailbox was, used 1,033 gold coins (McHauley).

The mailbox was also used when Dirk Fisher first discovered the five bronze cannons. Sand and mud had to be removed from the cannons so that they could be recovered. The mailbox was used and pushed all the debris off of the cannons and uncovered four more cannons that were not originally seen. The total number of bronze cannons discovered was nine (Clyne 2010).

The Hydro- Flow was also used to excavate the site and works very much like the mailbox. A very large sump pump can be raised in and out of the water hydraulically. It works the same as a mail box in that is moves sand or mud away from the artifact by pumping air out, but it can be used in the water closer to the excavation site (Clyne 2010).

Another tool that was used to excavate the Atocha was the airlift. It can be made out of PVC or aluminum pipe and is hooked to a suitable compressor, which allows it to move large amounts of sand. A vacuum effect occurs and causes sand to be sucked into the pipe. The excavator uses this to remove unwanted sand and search for embedded artifacts. At the Atocha site, divers using the airlift were able to uncover pockets of uncut emeralds (Clyne 2010).

When the emeralds were found Mel Fisher decided to add an attachment to the airlift. He added and extension to the tube so that the air lifts would be connected to a large box on the deck of the boat. When sand was sucked into the airlift, it would be placed on the boat where people could sift through the sand and recover emeralds that may have been lost (Clyne 2010).

Once an artifact was found on the Atocha site using one of the methods it was recovered and sent to the surface. Small delicate objects like coins and chains were sometimes hand carried to the surface when there were only a few items. When a large amount of artifacts were, found containers were used to bring the artifacts to the surface. In the case of the Atocha, milk crates were mainly used. When larger items were found on the site lift bags were used. When the nine cannons were found at the Atocha site, large lift bags were used to bring the cannons to the surface.

Conservation/Preservation

Duncan Mathewson, Mel Fisher’s chief archaeologist made sure that all artifacts excavated were preserved and conserved. Once an artifact was taken out of the water precautions were taken to make sure the object would not dry out. All objects were soaked in water until they were preserved.

The preservation of metals was very important since most of the cargo on the Atocha consisted of gold and silver. First, the artifact was stored in a neutral pH bath of fresh water. The artifact was then cleaned and the corrosion was reduced by using low amperage electrolysis. The chloride content was then tested. If all the chloride was eliminated the artifact was then placed in a wash with distilled water and baking soda. The artifact was then dehydrated in an oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 24 hrs to 48 hrs. After this a wax layer or shellac is applied to the artifact to protect it (figure 10).

Pottery storage jars were also found on the Atocha. In order to preserve these jars they are placed in a bath where the salinity is slowly reduced to zero. The concentration is carefully removed and a stain remover is added to the bath of necessary. The artifact is then placed into a desalination bath of distilled water to remove all of the chloride. The step can last as long as 120 days. The next step is to dehydrate the artifact in air or a drying oven. Fragile items may need to be consolidated by being soaked in a mixture of special glue. The glue is able to penetrate the surface of the artifact and provides support. Many of the jars are not recovered completely and are found shattered. All of the shattered pieces are put back together again to form the jar. All of the artifacts are also catalogued. Photographers took pictures of each artifact. A computer-scanned the coins found on the Atocha site and kept a detail description of what was found. Artists also drew pictures of many of the artifacts. Captain Syd Jones and his wife K.T., were a few of the artists that sketched the artifacts recovered. When they drew the artifacts, they placed them in the relative location they would be found based on timber placement of the hull. This would allow the drawings to be exact based on where the artifact was found on the Atocha site. All of this cataloguing kept a thorough log of all the artifacts found on the Atocha site and the condition of which they were found (Clyne 2010).
Conservation for the Atocha still continues at the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society. The laboratory consists of two thousand square feet and contains 100,000 artifacts that have been recovered from the Atocha or have been donated from other expeditions. In order to conserve the artifacts one they have been preserved environmental conditions such as temperature, and humidity, light in the gallery are adjusted to keep the artifact in optimum condition. The artifacts are also issued a Mel Fisher Certificate of Authenticity so that it is known that the artifact went under strict preservation and conservation.

Study/ Exhibition

A topic of research being studied on the Atocha is a well-preserved anole or lizard that was recovered. In 1986, excavation of the galleons bilge turned up a small clump that was very hard. At first, the clump was thought to be the remains of a bag with its contents. However, study in the lab determined the clump to be something very different. As the outer layers of the clump were removed, a lizard like figure began to take shape. The lizard was dried out but had a similar appearance to lizards that are found in south Florida and the Caribbean (Malcom 2005).

Dr. Kenneth Krysko, senior biological scientist with the Division of Herpetology, was called in to further study the lizard in 2004. He believes that the lizard was preserved so well in the water because it died before the Atocha sank. The lizard was so well preserved that its skin, claws and teeth are intact. He found that the lizard was 4 centimeters from its nose to the tip of its tail. A closer look at the lizards tow pads made Dr, Krysko sure that is was not a gecko. This is because geckos toe pads are expanded; where as the lizard on the Atocha had narrow toe pads (Malcom 2005).

The lizard also had characteristics of species found in the genus Anolis because its teeth were tri-cusped near the back of the jaw. Closer look at the skin showed a brown coloration, which is also characteristic of anoles. Documents also show evidence that the Atocha last stop was Havana, which is home to the Cuban Brown Anole. This evidence strongly supports that the lizard found on the Atocha is a Cuban Brown Anole (Malcom 2005).

Before this find, the earliest document of the Cuban Brown Anole was in 1877 in Key West, Florida. This means that the Atocha may have played a role in transporting creatures from Havanah to Florida. The Atocha may have even transported creatures from the Americas to Europe (Malcom 2005).

The lizard that was found on the Atocha can be found at The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key Largo, Florida. The museum is located in Key West, and was originally used as a place to brainstorm about the whereabouts of the Atocha. Today the museum holds items recovered from the Spanish galleon and carries out conservations and preservation efforts of many of the artifact. Other exhibits found in the museum include material such as gold bars and silver ingots. It offers authentic coins and artifacts. (Garabello).

Who is Mel Fisher?

Mel fisher was born August 21, 1922 in Hobart, Indiana. As a child, he was an avid reader and always had an interest in the water and treasure. He had many other talents though. For instance, he learned carpentry from his father and had musical and dance talents from his mother. He was able to play the saxophone and formed his first dance band while attending Lew Wallace High School (McHaley).

He went to Purdue University to study engineering and went to the University of Alabama where he was awarded an honorary doctorate. During World War II, he was recruited into the Army Corps of Engineers. When he returned from the war, he and his family moved to Torrance, California where he studied animal husbandry at El Camino College and became a chicken farmer. In California, he met Dolores Horton, who became his wife in 1953. She was from Montana and never before had been into the ocean (McHaley).

Around the time he married his wife, Jacques Cousteau developed a device called the Aqua Lung. The device was made of a steel cylinder that was carried on the divers back and supplied air through a mouthpiece. This was the invention of SCUBA, and Mel fisher decided to bring it to California. He bought the air compressor, scuba tanks, and made his own dive gear. This would be the start of his new career. Mel Fisher and his wife built a dive shop in Redondo Beach, California and named it Mel’s Aqua Shop. They gave scuba lessons and took divers to shipwreck sites and underwater expeditions (McHaley).

Mel Fisher wanted to document what he saw under the sea. In order to this he built and underwater housing for his 16mm Bell & Howell movie camera. He made mini films of their underwater adventures that were then featured on local television channels. Scuba began to become popular because of Mel Fisher and his wife. The two were featured in commercials for bathing suits, movies, and even TV shows. While he was doing that, Dolores was breaking records. She holds the women’s underwater endurance records of more than 55 hours and 37 minutes (Clyne 2010).

During this time, the Fishers were building a family. They had five kids named Terry, Dirk, Kim, Kane, and Taffi. All of their kids learned to swim and grew to love the water. They would become a crucial part to the salvage team (Clyne 2010).

Fishers’ family and business took time away from being in the water. This would soon change as another family in California discovered the remains of some Spanish galleons off Florida’s coast. This caught Mel Fisher’s eye because more ships that are valuable had yet to be discovered, one of which was the Atocha. Fisher and his family moved down to Sebastian, Florida in 1963 to meet up with Kip Wagner who had discovered many of the remains of the Spanish galleons. With them, they bought seven other people who agreed to also move to Florida and work for without pay for one year. This would be the start of a new adventure for the two and the search for the Atocha.

On July 10 1985, Mel Fisher located the Atocha’s mother lode. He found thousands of artifacts that he conserves, studies, restores, recorded, and then shared in exhibits, Mel’s Ship Museum and Mel fisher Maritime Heritage Society Museum. In the 1990’s the Mel Fisher Center, Inc. was opened in Sebastian, Florida and is used to conserve and exhibit many new discoveries (McHaley).

December 19, 1998 Mel Fisher died. His children still carry out expeditions. Taffi manages the Mel Fisher Center, Terry and Kane operate search and recovery vessels on the Atocha site, and Kim manages the worldwide traveling treasure exhibit (McHaley).


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