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 The anchors, found on the ocean floor near the former Spanish
settlement of Villa Rica in southeastern Veracruz state, are
well preserved and resemble those made in the 1500s, Mexico's
National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said on
Monday.
Their discovery, along with an anchor believed to be from the
15th century that was found last year, has reassured
archaeologists that they are on track to find more artifacts
documenting the European invasion of Mexico.
They have identified 15 other sites that may also turn up
anchors, which could help pinpoint the spot where other Spanish
galleons under Cortes' command might have sunk and increase the
odds of finding wooden hulls and other remnants.
Cortes famously burnt the first ships he and his crew used to
sail to Mexico, forcing his small army of treasure-hunters to
march inland.
"The conquest of Mexico was a seminal event in human history,
and these shipwrecks, if we can find them, will be symbols of
the cultural collision that led to what is now the West," marine
archaeologist Frederick Hanselmann said in a statement.
Archaeologists dragged magnetometers through the ocean to search
for the artifacts, finally finding the two anchors at a depth of
10 to 15 meters (33-49 feet), buried beneath a thick layer of
sediment.
The largest anchor measures nearly 4 meters long and is about
1.6 meters wide.
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Interest in the Spanish conquest of Mexico is surging as this
year marks the 500th anniversary of Cortes' arrival, two years
before he and his native allies overran the Aztec capital of
Tenochtitlan, where Mexico City would later rise.
Earlier in the year, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez
Obrador, who has written several history books, publicly asked
Spanish King Felipe VI and Pope Francis to apologize to
indigenous Mexicans for the death and destruction unleashed by
the conquest.
Two new television series are also stirring new interest in the
history, one released last month by TV Azteca called "Hernan,"
and another planned to be developed by famed Hollywood director
Steven Spielberg entitled "Cortes" that stars Oscar-winner
Javier Bardem.
The anchors, once documented, were returned to where they were
found to ensure continued preservation in the deep sediment,
INAH said.
(Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon and Anthony Esposito; Editing
by David Alire Garcia and Stephen Coates)
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