It may be Oregon's most famous shipwreck, and even the name of the ship is secondary to a single word: beeswax. That was a big part of the cargo on the Spanish galleon Santo Cristo de Burgos, which vanished in the late 1600s.
For years gobs of beeswax washed up periodically on Oregon beaches, but the big find was confirmed only recently: actual timbers from the ship, washed into caves in Tillamook County.
We take up the story anew in this month's Underground History, our joint venture with the Southern Oregon University Laboratory of Anthropology (SOULA). Chelsea Rose from SOULA returns, along with Scott Williams, who works for Washington DOT but also heads the Marine Archaeology Society. They are joined by Robert Kentta, who heads the cultural resources operations at the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.