Danish researchers have discovered three shipwrecks on the seabed east of the Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. The boats, some of which are in very good condition, lie at a depth of around 150 meters. The Sea War Museum in ThyborØn, Jutland, is now publishing photo and video material from the mission.
The special thing about the find is how well preserved one of the wrecks is. “Completely untouched, as if it had just sunk,” say the marine archaeologists.
The experts are already certain about the origin of the ships. Two of the wrecks are said to date from the late 17th or early 18th century. There is a high degree of certainty that these are Dutch cargo ships, the third and largest ship is probably Scandinavian, according to the researchers. Researchers call this larger ship the “cannon wreck” and it probably dates from the second half of the 19th century. The ships are only a few nautical miles apart.
However, some details also puzzle the researchers. Several small wooden barrels are standing almost intact on one of the ship’s decks. It is assumed that the ship transported goods at the time and that the wooden barrels were possibly used to hide behind them in the event of an attack.
The researchers are also not yet able to say conclusively why the ships sank. An attack is ruled out, because otherwise holes would probably have been discovered in the ship’s hull. A storm or a sudden change in weather may have capsized the ship.
The experts are now looking for answers to all these questions by examining the wrecks more closely.
In contrast to the North Sea, the Baltic Sea is an ideal place to discover well-preserved ships. This is mainly due to the lower oxygen content at lower altitudes. There it is so small that the so-called shipworm has not been able to survive well. This type of mussel prefers to attack old wood. However, according to experts, the shipworm seems to be slowly adapting to the low salinity, which is harmful to them. Such spectacular finds on the bottom of the Baltic Sea could therefore become rarer in the future.