They find an 18th century shipwreck with goods in exceptional condition: «Like a time capsule»

A man discovered in the north of Europa and shipwreck of 18th century which contained a cargo never found before in that region.

At the beginning of June of this year, the Norwegian Maritime Museum —Norsk Maritimt Museum— announced the discovery of the remains of an old merchant ship in it strait of Skagerrak, an arm of North Sea that separates the scandinavian peninsula of the jutland peninsula.

This person, according to the Directorate of Cultural Heritage of Norway—the original name of the government agency is The National Archives—, directs a small company dedicated to underwater exploration and the use of remotely operated underwater vehicles.

One day, at that time, Saastad—who is also a diver and watchmaker—located the shipwreck at 600 meters below sea level with your specialized company. This discovery, according to the Riksantikvaren, occurred off the Norwegian coast.

«Saastad (…) is involved in the investigation of the shipwreck together with the Norwegian Maritime Museum, including the artifact recovery. The museum’s archaeologists and cultural historians are preserving and documenting the finds to further the investigation of the history and the origin of the ship and the recovered objects«, indicate the Riksantikvaren by means of a press release.

What was it like, when did it sink and what merchandise did the ship contain?

According to an article published on the official website from the Norwegian Maritime Museum, the vessel in question measured 22 meters in length and it had two masts. The institution’s experts believe that it was an 18th century ship dedicated to the trade of merchandise.

«Based on our observations, we believe that the vessel has rounded sternpossibly of the type known as convictand characteristic merchant ship of northern Europe. In the 17th century, these ships had a single mast located one third of the length of the hull. In the 18th century, the rigging evolved to two or three masts«, clarified the entity.

On the other hand, regarding his fateful outcomeresearchers estimate that the ship was wrecked in the mid-18th century, although the reasons are still unknown. «The evidence as a whole suggests that the ship sank around 1750a period marked by profound political, economic and social changes in northern Europe,» the museum stated.

In turn, the entity said that more data about the ship still needs to be discovered: «More findings will be needed to determine the home port, the route and the name of the vessel«.

However, despite the mystery about their journey, there is one certainty: the ship guards treasuresspecifically period merchandise. Thanks to operations at sea, experts recovered many of these objects.

«The ship lies 600 meters deep with a exceptionally well preserved cargolike a time capsule. To date, they have identified large quantities of Chinese porcelainfragments of candlesticks, bowls and grain barrels. The objects suggest that they date from the mid-18th century,» the museum said.

In addition, specialists detected boxes next to the remains of the ship that could contain textiles and organic materialslike tea, herbs and medicines.

«The shipwreck (editor’s note: it was baptized as Porcelain Wreck) contains the best preserved cargo of its type ever found in northern Europe,» said the Riksantikvaren.

For his part, the Minister of Climate and Environment of Norway, Andreas Bjelland Eriksenhighlighted the importance of the boat.

«This find is not only extraordinarybut also has a considerable scientific value and demonstrates an important technological advance in underwater archaeology. provides us new and valuable information about the maritime history of Norway and northern Europeand will be of great importance for archaeological research and dissemination, as well as for the management of cultural heritage,» said the official, according to the article from the Norwegian Maritime Museum.