Scientists and volunteers looking for a buried shipwreck off the Oregon Coast, found a small square of Chinese porcelain last weekend. It was tucked in a small cave and may be from a Spanish ship that sank more than 300 years ago.

“That’s the Chinese porcelain, from the wreck, we’re certain. I wouldn’t say I’m 100 percent certain, but I’m 99 percent certain,” said Scott Williams. (Click here to see past artifacts.)

Williams is an archeologist from Washington State. He learned about the hunt for the ship from friends and is now running the program.

“Like I said, we know there’s a galleon out here. Its just a matter of finding it,” said Williams.

“These little clues, every little clue points us further and further in the right direction,” he said.

The official title of the search is “The Beeswax Wreck Project.”

KGW photo

Williams wrote a grant proposal for the effort.

The name comes from the bees wax that occasionally washes up on the Oregon Coast near Nehalem Bay.

The most recent discovery happened after the storms of early December 2007. Beeswax has washed up on the shoreline for decades, and probably centuries.

Williams and his team hoped to dive on what they believe is the wreck site, but their plans fell through because of a small budget and rough weather.

They settled for the Chinese porcelain and promised to return. (Click here to take a look at the team.)