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10 Searching for the San Francisco (1609), a Manila Galleon … 179

ship were still possessed by residents in the town. However, nothing was found.
Today in Onjuku the local people still appreciate the connections to the historic
shipwreck, which is shown in the erection of the Mexico and Spanish
Commemorative Tower in town. Modern Tajiri beach, said to have been the
landing place of the survivors, is now a designated historic site.

10.4 Archaeological Search for the San Francisco

In 2016 a maritime archaeological project began with the aim of locating the exact
position of the San Francisco and evaluating any material evidence on the shore
and underwater around the area where the ship is said to have sunk. The underwater
archaeological investigation includes remote sensing surveys and diving searches
with a metal detector speci!cally trying to locate any metal artifacts from the
shipwreck. There are no records about any salvage of large metal objects from the
shipwreck, such as anchors or cannons. The bronze cannons and iron anchors found
on the wreck of the San Diego in the Philippines and at the Nuestra Señora de la
Concepción (1638) in Saipan show the potential for the survival of the ferrous and
other metal objects on Manila galleons. Considering these examples in the case of
the San Francisco, it is possible that the corroded objects might remain in situ on
the seabed. The state of preservation of such artifacts is also related to the sediment
conditions of the seabed. The seabed sediment off the beach of Tajiri, the proposed
landing place of the survivors, consists mostly of exposed bedrock. The coast of
modern Onjuku town is exposed to high energy from swells and waves, as seen
along the coastal cliffs that extend northward (Fig. 10.3).

Fig. 10.3 Onjuku along the coastal cliffs extending northward in Chiba of Japan