Dozens of Spanish galleons returning from the colonies in South America in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries are believed to have sunk in waters around Cádiz.

Royal Navy warships and other British vessels may also be among the wrecks the Spanish navy says it has located.

Between 500 and 800 ships are thought to lie at the bottom of the Gulf of Cádiz.

Getting there before Odyssey
Spain wants to avoid a repeat of a saga that began in 2007, when Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration found a sunken Spanish galleon and salvaged from it an estimated $500 million (£315m) in silver coins and other artifacts.

That ship, the Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, was sunk by the British navy south-west of Portugal in 1804, while it was sailing back from South America with more than 200 people on board.

Spain's navy said it had recovered evidence from potential wreck sites which was being analysed by archeologists. It said the sites could contain anything from crashed aircraft to ancient settlements.

The Naval Museum in Madrid and the National Subaquatic Archaeology Museum in Cartagena will receive much of the material recovered from the seabed.

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