Eighty-six intact olive jars, or “botijas”, along with numerous jar rims and sherds were recovered from the "Tortugas" shipwreck.  This wreck site is believed to be the Buen Jesús y Nuestra Señora del Rosario, one of the vessels sailing with the ill-fated 1622 Tierra Firme treasure fleet. The Rosario, along with her sister ships the Nuestra Señora de Atocha and Santa Margarita, were lost in a hurricane while passing through the Florida Strait on its return voyage to Spain.
 
These ceramic vessels, manufactured in assorted sizes and shapes, were the primary shipping containers of the time used to store olive oil, water and a multitude of foodstuffs. Before sailors embarked from Seville, an eight-month supply of provisions including rice, almonds, wine, honey, vinegar and fruit was packed into the jars, sealed with corks and loaded onto their ships for the long round-trip voyage to the New World. 
 
Referred to as the “Tortugas” shipwreck due to the proximity to the Dry Tortugas Islands off the coast of Florida, the shipwreck was discovered at 1,300 feet deep. Using ground-breaking technological methods, the recovery of artifacts made history as the first deep-ocean remotely operated archeological excavation of a shipwreck. For more info click here. 
 
Each artifact in this collection is an absolutley unique and genuine artifact  presented with a museum quality stand and comes complete with a certificate of authenticity.