Posted on 04/04/2023 9:48:30 AM PDT by Red Badger
The royal warship Vasa is seen at the Vasamuseet museum in Stockholm on April 24, 2011. (Scanpix Sweden, Anders Wiklund/AP Photo)
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COPENHAGEN, Denmark—A U.S. military laboratory has helped Swedes confirm what was suspected for years: A woman was among those who died on a 17th-century warship that sank on its maiden voyage, the museum that displays the ship said Tuesday.
The wreck of the royal warship Vasa was raised in 1961, and was remarkably well-preserved after more than 300 years underwater in the Stockholm harbor. It has since been place at the Vasa Museum, one of Stockholm’s top tourist attractions where visitors can admire its intricate wooden carvings.
Some 30 people died when the Vasa keeled over and sank just minutes after leaving port in 1628. They are believed to have been crew members and most of their identities are unknown.
For years, there were indications that one of the victims, known as G, was a woman, because of the appearance of the hip bone, Fred Hocker, research leader at the Vasa Museum, said in a statement.
Anna Maria Forsberg, a historian with the Vasa Museum, told The Associated Press that women were not part of the crew in the Swedish navy in the 17th century, but they could be on board as guests. Seamen were allowed to have their wives with them onboard unless the ship was going into battle or going for a long journey.
“We know from written sources that around 30 people died that day,” Forsberg said. “It is thus likely that she was a seaman’s wife who wanted to come along on the maiden journey of this new, impressive ship.”
She said the exact number of people on board that day was not known “but we think there were around 150 people. An additional 300 soldiers were supposed to board further out in the archipelago,” she said.
Since 2004, the Vasa Museum collaborated with the Department of Immunology, Genetics, and Pathology at Uppsala University, which examined all the skeletons on Vasa in order to find out as much as possible about the various individuals on the doomed vessel.
“It is very difficult to extract DNA from bones that have been on the seabed for 333 years, but not impossible,” Marie Allen, professor of forensic genetics at Uppsala University said in the statement. “Simply put, we found no Y chromosomes in G’s genome. But we couldn’t be completely sure and we wanted to have the results confirmed.”
So they turned to the Delaware-based Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory. And thanks to the forensics laboratory specializing in DNA profiling at the Dover Air Force Base, “we have been able to confirm that the individual G was a woman, using the new test,” Allen said.
The Vasa which was supposed to go to a naval base outside Stockholm to wait for the boarding of the soldiers, is believed to have sunk because it lacked the ballast to counterweigh its heavy guns.
By Jan M. Olsen
PinGGG!.........................
How did the Swedes know this was a woman? Did they have biologists in the 17th century?
Probably the Defense Ministry official that ordered the specs.
It was a very pretty ship — but designed in such a way that it was doomed to founder.
Somebody’s gotta make the coffee.
They forgot to ballast the ship properly before launching...............
she surely identified as a man though...
Don’t they know this woman may have identified as male and was therefore a part of the crew???
The difference between male and female hip and pelvic bones are very distinct.
Attention Ketanji Brown-Jackson! These people may help you to know what a “woman” is.
Did they have pronouns then, too?
wy69
DON'T Y'ALL READ ANYTHING ON FR? You can't tell the difference between a man and woman just by their bones...
"‘Woke’ University of Pittsburgh Professor Denies Difference in Male, Female Skeletons"
“How did the Swedes know this was a woman? Did they have biologists in the 17th century?”
Huh?
“It was a very pretty ship — but designed in such a way that it was doomed to founder.”
Yup. She was top-heavy and unstable in any kind of wind (fatal for a sail-fitted vessel).
Every “deadly” TV show makes a point of this...Bones, NCIS, Columbo, Barnaby Jones etc etc..
The ship is indeed stunning.
I was told that a new King wanted an additional layer of guns added to the top.
That changed the balance from the original.
And they had all the gun ports open, to show off, when the ship keeled letting in water.
Hank Johnson would call it Guam.
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