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Baltic yields 'perfect' shipwreck
BBC ^ | 15 Nov 2007 | BBC

Posted on 11/15/2007 5:23:01 PM PST by BGHater

Baltic shipwreck
The shipwreck was filmed by a remote-controlled submarine

A near-intact shipwreck apparently dating from the 17th century has been found in the Baltic Sea, Swedish television has said.

The discovery was made during filming for an under-water documentary series.

Public service SVT television said the wreck could be from the same era as the famous Vasa warship, which sank on its maiden voyage in August 1628.

The broadcaster said the Baltic's low oxygen content and low temperature had helped preserve the wreck.

SVT said the origins of the ship were unclear but its features resembled the work of Dutch ship-builders from the period.

"Experts who have studied video of the ship conclude that it is probably the best-preserved ship ever seen from this period," the station said.

A press release provided by SVT quoted marine archaeologist MR Manders as saying he was "overwhelmed" by the condition of the wreck.

"You can hardly call this a shipwreck," he is quoted as saying.

Mr Manders said the boat was likely to have been a trading vessel, 20-25m long, with two or perhaps three masts.

Excellent visibility

The location of the wreck, between the Swedish mainland and Latvia, had been pinpointed in 2003.

Underwater wreck carvings
Carvings suggest a Dutch vessel (Photo: Deep Sea Production)

But it was only in May this year, during filming for The Wreck Divers documentary series, that full exploration and filming with a remotely-operated submarine took place.

The programme's executive producer, Malcolm Dixelius, told the BBC the ship was found at a depth of 125m - offering "excellent" visibility.

The relative lack of oxygen in the water and its low temperature meant the ship had been amazingly well-preserved, he said.

SVT says the vessel probably dates from the same period as the Vasa warship, which was discovered in 1956 and brought to the surface.

The museum where it is kept is now one of the main tourist attractions in Stockholm.

SVT's The Wreck Divers programme is aired on Thursday.



TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: ancientnavigation; baltic; balticsea; godsgravesglyphs; middleages; nauticalarchaeology; renaissance; shipwreck; sweden; vasa
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1 posted on 11/15/2007 5:23:03 PM PST by BGHater
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To: BGHater

Cool. Thank You.


2 posted on 11/15/2007 5:26:21 PM PST by txzman (Jer 23:29)
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To: BGHater

It’s just too bad we can’t submerge Hillery! in the
cold, oxygenless depths of the Baltic for say 200 years...


3 posted on 11/15/2007 5:31:43 PM PST by tet68 ( " We would not die in that man's company, that fears his fellowship to die with us...." Henry V.)
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To: tet68
It’s just too bad we can’t submerge Hillery! in the cold, oxygenless depths of the Baltic for say 200 years...

What did the Baltic ever do to you?

4 posted on 11/15/2007 5:36:10 PM PST by Lonely Bull
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To: tet68

See would look the same …


5 posted on 11/15/2007 5:36:12 PM PST by doc1019 (Fred Thompson '08)
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To: BGHater

At a depth of 125 meters, it might be possible to salvage quite a bit of this “wreck”, but raising it from that depth may well be impossible...


6 posted on 11/15/2007 6:26:14 PM PST by Bean Counter (Stout Hearts...)
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To: Bean Counter

I toured the Vase and it is simply amazing what they did (both in building her and in her recovery and preservation.)


7 posted on 11/15/2007 6:28:06 PM PST by american_ranger (Never ever use DirecTV)
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To: BGHater
Thanks. This is neat.

On a similar note there is a British ship named “Bredalbane” that went down in the Canadian Arctic in 1850. The wreck is amazingly well preserved and can be visited via submarine for $10k/person.

8 posted on 11/15/2007 6:36:42 PM PST by Aglooka
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To: american_ranger

yea, they just weren’t that good at sailing her.


9 posted on 11/15/2007 6:37:17 PM PST by scott jefferys (the international community has convinced North Korea and Libya)
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To: scott jefferys; american_ranger
I scanned the Wikipedia article on the Vasa. Her intended firepower was equated to the larger, and 700-ton heavier USS Constitution.

So, fitting all that firepower on a fairly small platform, what did they expect?

10 posted on 11/15/2007 7:26:48 PM PST by Calvin Locke
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To: BGHater

Way cool!


11 posted on 11/15/2007 7:36:56 PM PST by Travis McGee (---www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com---)
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To: Calvin Locke

State of the art technology always involves a certain amount of risk. Think of WW1 airplanes. As primitive as they seem now, they were the best in the world at the time, and were extremely dangerous to fly, just because the technology was new and untried.


12 posted on 11/15/2007 7:42:51 PM PST by ozzymandus
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To: BGHater

bmflr


13 posted on 11/15/2007 9:37:23 PM PST by Kevmo (We should withdraw from Iraq — via Tehran. And Duncan Hunter is just the man to get that job done.)
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To: SunkenCiv
Too modern for GGG?
14 posted on 11/15/2007 10:30:20 PM PST by kitchen (Any day without a fair tax thread is a good day.)
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To: tet68

It’s just too bad we can’t submerge Hillery! in the cold, oxygenless depths of the Baltic for say 200 years...

...And risk someone finding her?

15 posted on 11/15/2007 11:51:32 PM PST by Sarajevo (You're just jealous because the voices only talk to me.)
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To: Lonely Bull

LOL


16 posted on 11/16/2007 12:02:22 AM PST by MaxMax (God Bless America)
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To: kitchen; blam; StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 24Karet; 3AngelaD; 49th; ...

· join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic ·

 
Gods
Graves
Glyphs
Thanks kitchen. Not too recent -- we're so desperate for topics, we're pingin' everything but the, uh, never mind...

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.
GGG managers are Blam, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
 

· Google · Archaeologica · ArchaeoBlog · Archaeology magazine · Biblical Archaeology Society ·
· Mirabilis · Texas AM Anthropology News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo ·
· History or Science & Nature Podcasts · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists ·


17 posted on 11/16/2007 12:10:29 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Profile updated Thursday, November 15, 2007. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: BGHater

Nearly 400 years underwater & its masts and bowsprit are still intact.


18 posted on 11/16/2007 12:17:07 PM PST by skeeter
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To: skeeter

That’s amazing.


19 posted on 11/16/2007 12:25:03 PM PST by Ramius (Personally, I give us... one chance in three. More tea?)
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To: SunkenCiv

I think it’s a prop from a low-budget 50’s film by the famed Swedish director, Moos Moosen.


20 posted on 11/16/2007 12:25:39 PM PST by CholeraJoe (Be unique. It makes it easier for the rest of us to identify the morons.)
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