So far, archaeologists have recovered 40 artifacts from that discovery: an 18th-century shipwreck with a cargo of intact porcelain plates and luxury goods, which is yet to reveal thousands of treasures,
Last autumn, Espen Saastad was exploring the Skagerrak Strait, between Norway and Denmark, when he realized he had found something special.
Almost hidden 600 metros deep, there lay a sunken ship loaded with delicate porcelain plates. And many of them were still intact.
Saastad, a watchmaker and owner of a small underwater prospecting company, contacted archaeologists at the Norwegian Maritime Museum, who were haunted by the discovery. They named the unknown vessel “Porcelain Shipwreck” and have been investigating it ever since, says .
“I had to rub my eyes when I realized the dimension of this discovery”, he says Hanna Geirangeneral manager of the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage, in . “It’s almost unbelievable”.
Using a remotely operated underwater vehicle equipped with a camera, researchers have been documenting the 22-meter-long ship and its cargo.
Some of the pieces appear to be Batavia porcelaina style of Chinese porcelain with blue and white decoration on the inside and brown glaze on the outside. Others seem to be Chinese whitea type of porcelain produced in the town of Dehua, on the southeast coast of China. One of the cups has what appears to be a monogram at the base, but researchers have not yet been able to decipher it.
“We often find cargo and merchandise, but they are usually broken or covered in marine organisms,” he said. Sven Ahrensdirector of research at the Norwegian Maritime Museum, to Ida Irene Bergstrøm of . “Here, there were whole plates piled up at the bottom of the sea”.
In addition to the well-preserved pottery, researchers found grain barrels and an array of high-end European made goods, from chandeliers to stemmed glasses. They also discovered a box full of mysterious substancespossibly coffee, tea, cocoa or medicines.
“It’s a kind of shipwreck dream,” Ahrens told ScienceNorway. “There is a huge variety of objects in the cargo, and at this depth the state of preservation is absolutely fantastic; even organic materials have survived remarkably.”
In May, researchers used a drone with a robotic arm equipped with suction cups to place about 40 artifacts in boxes and bring them to the surface. The objects are now at , in Oslo, which intends to integrate them into a permanent exhibition in the future.
Nonetheless, some of the artifacts are already on displayallowing the public to preview what might be shown.
Based on the relatively vertical position of the wreck, researchers believe the vessel It sank quickly and sank almost to the bottom. down to the bottom of the sea. Much of the cargo remains exactly where it was stored centuries ago.
It is suspected that the ship sank somewhere in the 18th centuryprobably around 1750. This was a period of “profound changes political, economic and social in Northern Europe”, at a time when the modern consumer cultureaccording to the museum.
“The trade in raw materials and luxury goods, which previously occurred in separate markets, began to transform into a maritime trade system interconnected,” the statement says. “At the same time, the rise of the middle classes and the growth of international trade drove a rapid expansion of commercial activity and shipping.”
Rice straw discovered in some of the boxes suggests that the porcelain came from China or Indonesia. But the ship probably didn’t travel there to pick her up. Instead, investigators believe the vessel carried the merchandise somewhere in Northern Europein a place where goods were sold at auction — possibly Gothenburg, Sweden, Copenhagen or Amsterdam.
A possible clue about the origin of the ship emerged among the wreckage: a brick from the on-board kitchen manufactured by Lübeck council brickworksa brick production company from Lübeck, Germany, which operated between the 15th century and 1772.
However, archaeologists say, this does not necessarily mean the ship was built or was registered there; it just indicates that he had some connection to the city.
Based on the size, shape and characteristics of the vessel, investigators suspect that it may be a type of merchant ship known as a “valid”.The ship has two masts, a feature present in some galiots from the 18th century.
Still, many questions remain unanswered. “What caused the ship to sink? Was it a storm?”, the statement reads.
“And what happened to the people on board? Ships of this type typically had a crew of five or six men. Did they manage to escape before the vessel sank, or did the sea become their last home?”
Researchers hope to recover more objects, which could number in the thousands. “There are still boxes to open, and they may contain surprises”, maritime archaeologist told Science Norway Frode Kvaløfrom the Norwegian Maritime Museum who is leading the project.
