OREANDA-NEWS  There are 250 sunken treasure ships off the coast of Portugal, and only one of them can hold 22 tons of gold and silver, said Alexandri Monteiro, an archaeologist at the New University of Lisbon.

As the scientist told the Portuguese newspaper Observador, he collected a database according to which there are a total of 8,260 sunken ships off the coast of Portugal, which have been wrecked since 1500, when documentation began.

"We know that there are 250 treasure ships, and that sooner or later anyone can find one of them," the newspaper quoted Monteiro as saying. The scientist complained that the state does not yet have mechanisms to protect such finds from "treasure hunters."

Monteiro added that, according to his information, there is a Spanish ship off the coast of the Portuguese peninsula of Troy, which sank in 1589, carrying 22 tons of gold and silver on board.