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Learning English from the News

Upper intermediate level

First treasure recovered from $20bn sunken ship

Episode 251126 / 26 Nov 2025

(Photo via Getty Images)

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The story

A cannon, three coins and a porcelain cup have been recovered from a ship that sank over 300 years ago.

The ship, called the San Jose, was sunk by British ships in 1708, near Cartagena in Colombia.

San Jose is thought to have $20bn worth of gold and silver coins on board, according to some estimates.

Colombia, Spain, an American company and indigenous groups in Bolivia have all claimed that this treasure belongs to them.

News headlines

Archeologists recover treasures from the legendary 1708 San Jose, wrecked in war
Fox Weather

First treasures from 'holy grail of shipwrecks' recovered
Sky News

Coins, cannon recovered from legendary ship that sunk 3 centuries ago with billions of dollars in treasure
CBS News

Key words and phrases

wreck
destroy or damage badly

  • After the crash, my car was wrecked. 

holy grail
something that lots of people want, but is very hard to find

  • Finding a way to learn languages effortlessly is the holy grail.

legendary
well-known and talked about a lot

  • The film is based on the life of a legendary Indian cricketer.

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