Isn’t it everyone’s dream to find a hidden treasure? For years many explorers who dwell deep into the sea have searched for historical remains and valuables. Well, now that one has been found, many people want to know not only who does it belong to, more importantly, who will claim it?

CBS News is reporting that an underwater robot has stumbled upon a fortune! The underwater traveling robot is known as The REMUS 6000, and it recently recovered a treasure that may be worth somewhere near the $17 billion mark. Yes, billion with a capital B! The treasure was found on a Spanish boat (the San Jose) that was shipwrecked over 300 years ago.

Super robot

Not only is finding this type of treasure amazing, it is also incredible that a robot had the technology to do so. The REMUS 6000 can dive nearly four miles under the sea and it is loaded with several sensors and cameras. In fact, this is the same type of robot that helped find Air France Flight 447 back in 2009 when it crashed off the coast of Brazil.

So who is behind this amazing piece of machinery? That would be the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Even though the engineers behind the robot knew it had what it takes to make such a discovery, the fact that they actually found what is being called the “Holy Grail” of treasures has everyone at the institution wearing a permanent grin.

"I just sat there for about 10 minutes and smiled," said Jeff Kaeli, a research engineer with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

While the announcement came this week of this massive discovery, the robot actually found the treasure some time ago. The huge treasure was found on the San José back on November 27, 2015, but because of a legal battle and a ton red tape between the Colombian government and an American salvage company over the treasure, the institution was not authorized to reveal its involvement in the discovery until just recently.

Who gets the money?

Now the big question is at hand, who gets the treasure? The country of Columbia says it belongs to them, however, Spain believes they should reap the benefits of the discovery. The San Jose was sunk back in 1701, killing the entire crew of 600. Now sadly generations later, not many are talking about the brave who perished, but who will reap the spoils.

The researchers who found the treasure are not involved in the dispute over who will collect the cash, but one would think they deserve something. After all if not for the team and their robot, the treasure would still be unknown.
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