Posted on 11/15/2007 5:23:01 PM PST by BGHater
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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.
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. |
Wow. That is amazing.
Not sure the crew agrees with you. :-)
Imagine Thighzilla emerging from cold-water stasis! It would rival Godzilla rising from the depths -- lumpy, barnacle-encrusted and seaweed-festooned.
“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.”
Actually you are only half correct. They were in part dangerous to fly because the fighters were trying for maximum maneuverability (close to the unstable regime), something we handle now with fly-by-wire.
bump
Sorry I didn’t measure up to your standards. Whatever.
“you could hardly call it a shipwreck.”
No kidding. It gives me goosebumps. It looks like someone sailed it gently into the sand. I keep getting an image of an old Norseman sailing her into the deeps, calling “Odin, Odin” as she sank beneath the waves.
Thanks for finding and posting this.
neat-o bandee-do... thanks for posting.
It sits upright on the bottom, lightly covered by the sea dust of 2,500 years," he wrote. "The wave-smashed deckhouse and splintered bulwarks tell of the violence of its last struggle with the sea. A stub of a mast still remains."
Deep Water, Ancient Ships:
The Treasure Vault
of the Mediterranean
by Willard Bascom
;’D
“Mr Manders said the boat was likely to have been a trading vessel, 20-25m long, with two or perhaps three masts.”
20 to 25 meters long — that would be one big-a’ed prop though. ;’)
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