Thousands of Pearls Found in Shipwreck

The small lead box that was found days ago from a nearly 400-year-old shipwreck was gently pried open on Friday. Crammed inside was silt -- and at least a thousand pearls. ''This is a stunning collection of Baroquian sea pearls probably originating off the island of Margarita down off Venezuela,'' said James Sinclair, a consulting archaeologist on the treasure hunting project. Sean Fisher, the grandson of the late Mel Fisher who discovered the Santa Margarita shipwreck in 1980 off the Marquesas Keys, said this is the first time they have found pearls that were not attached to jewelry. ''This is very rare, because pearls don't normally survive in the ocean very well,'' Sinclair said. ``Once they lose the protection of the oysters that make them, they tend to deteriorate very rapidly. ``So in this instance we have a lead box and silt that sifted into the box to preserve the pearls in almost a pristine state. They still have their nacre and sheen on them that are pretty important things.'' The pearls range in size from less than 1/8-inch wide to a giant one that is about ¾-inches wide.