Marine archaeologists are exploring the site of an early modern Portuguese shipwreck.

NPR reports that “A 400-year-old shipwreck that signified a time when the spice trade between Portugal and India was booming has been uncovered 40 feet below the water’s surface during a dredging project. The shipwreck was discovered off the coast of Cascais, Portugal, not far from the capital, Lisbon.”

A team of marine archaeologists is now conducting excavations to recover artifacts from the shipwreck.  Jorge Freire, director of the project, claims that “from a heritage perspective, this is the discovery of the decade. … In Portugal, this is the most important find of all time.” (Reuters)

The NPR report on the shipwreck is available on their website.  BBC and Reuters provide additional reporting on the shipwreck.