Undersea explorers find something unique at wreck site

JUPITER, Fla. - Normally, Captain Dominic Addario and his wife Yvonne wouldn't be home during the day, they'd be out off the Jupiter Inlet.  But Monday's gray weather kept them away. 

For more than two decades, the couple has been excavating the site of the Spanish galleon "San Miguel Archangel," which sank off the coast in 1660.

"We've trained ourselves to look for anything out of the ordinary, that is not normal," said Addario, known locally as Captain Dom.

Since discovering the ship in 1987, and becoming the federal custodian of the site, Addario has uncovered many valuable artifacts, including 15-thousand coins.  But when he was out diving at the site last Friday, he came upon something else that he had never seen before, and something he didn't think was from the era of the "San Miguel."

"What that means is there is a lot more of this story to be told," said Addario.

What he uncovered looks like a sandal.  Addario puts in over his chest.

"This was a piece of jewelry that someone of significance wore on their chest," he adds.

It's called a Glacial Kame Sandal Gorget, and according to Captain Dom, only about 100 of them exist in the world. 

The Glacial Kame culture existed between 3000 and 500 B.C. and was native to areas around Ohio and the midwest.  While he doesn't think he's uncovered any type of ancient indian burial site, Captain Dom now has new ideas on where the main remains of the "San Miguel" lie. 

He believes it's under some hard pan rock that had been blasted out when the Jupiter Inlet was built in the 1920s.  That rock then was tossed about during decades of storms.  With new ideas, and a new book due this fall, the captain has a lot on his plate.  He again grabs at his newest find.

"We're out there to learn more about the past.. and this is definitely from the past," said the captain.

So did Captain Dom find Florida's first snowbird? Only time will tell but the captain will be back out on the water Tuesday, weather permitting, looking for something else.