The Chronicle Herald

By ANDREA NEMETZ Entertainment Reporter

An Arcadia film crew from Halifax has found itself at the centre of a treasure find fit for Jack Sparrow.

Early this week, while filming an episode of their GO DEEP ocean series about the different ways countries handle historic shipwrecks, the GO DEEP team, including Robert Chisholm and Sea Hunter Mike Fletcher found themselves in the middle of a real treasure discovery.

It included gold chains, gold bars, jewels and a chest filled with over 1,000 rare Black Pearls, said Arcadia Entertainment representatives in a news release.

At the site of the Margarita, a Spanish Galleon lost in 1622 off the coast of Key West, Florida one of the dive boats pulled anchor and pulled up a huge gold chain. Further dive investigation revealed a total of seven large chains, jewels, gold bars and a small encrusted chest.

Wednesday, as the crew and documentary team worked to capture a good look at the newly discovered box a few pearls spilled out of a small hole in the corner.

Says Chisholm, "Everyone wanted to just break open the box and see what’s inside. But Everyone agreed on the importance of preservation, conservation and trying to establish the historical significance of treasure finds."

So the band of treasure hunters agreed to wait until professional archeologists and conservators could be brought in to examine and open the box.

On Friday afternoon the box was opened. The box, which turns out to be made of almost pure silver, was filled with over 1,000 rare and valuable Black Pearls.

Arcadia Entertainment produces factual series and feature documentaries in Halifax. GO DEEP, is a series about incredible ocean stories currently in production worldwide with crews from the Halifax-based company shooting in Egypt, San Francisco, New York, Venice, Turkey, Key West, North Carolina and London.