The Goonies came to life after a 15-year search uncovered the remains of a legendary Spanish ship that’s been missing since 1693 off the northern coast of Oregon. Archaeologists, law enforcement personnel, and search-and-rescue teams discovered wood timbers that they believe were pieces of the Santo Cristo de Burgos, a Spanish ship that went missing on a trip from the Philippines to Mexico in 1693. There have only been three ships recovered so far from the same period, which was a time marked by cross-Pacific trade trips. The other discovered were in Oregon, California, and Baja Mexico, but none turned up hull remains until now. “It was amazing to pull off such a complex operation, made entirely possible by teamwork, cooperation, and exceptional professionalism by all involved,” Jim Delgado, the project’s principal archaeological investigator, told National Geographic. Stories in Oregon newspapers of searches for treasure-laden shipwrecks inspired The Goonies.
Read it at National Geographic
