Divers recover ‘unique’ alcohol bottles from 1700s shipwreck near Florida

Florida officials recently announced the discovery of two 18th-century “onion glasses” found in waters outside of the Sunshine State.

The Florida Division of Historical Resources announced the find on Oct. 8 in a social media statement about the bottles’ recent restoration. In a Facebook post, the department shared old pictures of the barnacle-covered bottles, and newer pictures of the restored artifacts. The post credits “meticulously slow cleaning and drying,” for the successful restoration.

“Peeling back the layers to these onions was surely a challenge!” the post read. “With meticulously slow cleaning and drying, the bottles remained intact and were then consolidated with Paraloid B-72, an acrylic resin based consolidant typically used in glass and ceramic conservation.”

Mark Ard, the Director of External Affairs of the Florida Department of State, told Fox News Digital that the bottles were recovered from a shipwreck off the coast of Indian River County in 2021 and 2022.

“While the exact ship has not been identified, the vessel was part of the Spanish Plate Fleet that was sailing from Cuba bound for Spain in 1715,” Ard explained. “The 1715 Spanish Plate Fleet was lost at sea along Florida’s east coast after encountering a hurricane.”

Ard called the bottles a “rare” intact discovery, and noted that the drinking vessels were empty when they were found.

“It is presumed they contained some sort of alcoholic spirit,” the official explained.

“These bottles are very fragile, and for them to first survive the destruction of the ship, and then being submerged underwater for over 300 years where they were subject to tidal forces, is incredible.”

The Florida official said that the bottles were likely produced in England. Each onion bottle is unique, Ard said.

“Onion bottles are free-blown using a pontile. Each one is unique, so there is variation in size, shape and weight,” he described.

“These were made by hand by skilled craftspeople,” Ard added. “Onion bottles would have been carried as cargo and would have also been used by crew and passengers onboard.”

The official also stressed how important the Spanish treasure fleet was to global maritime trade in the 18th century. 

“The flow of goods and raw materials from Central and Southern America, and to a lesser extent Asia, was vital to the economies of not just the Kingdom of Spain but many other nations in Europe,” he said. “Goods, such as chocolate that was onboard these ships, also fundamentally changed social habits that we still see today.”

“The Spanish mixed sugar with cacao to create drinking chocolate that was often served using specific porcelain vessels made in China that were also transported by the Plate Fleets.”

Ard told Fox News Digital that the bottles are now available for loan as part of the Artifact Loan Program. 

“In Florida, examples of onion bottles on loan from the Division are on exhibit at History Miami, the Pensacola Museum of History, and the McLarty Treasure Museum in Sebastian, Indian River County,” he explained.