KAMPEN, THE NETHERLANDS—A well-preserved medieval ship has been raised from bed of the Ijssel River, an offshoot of the Rhine, where it is thought to have been sunk intentionally more than 600 years ago. The 65-foot-long ship, which was a wooden international trading vessel known as a cog, was active at a time when the Hanseatic League dominated maritime trade in Europe. The wreck was discovered at the bottom of the river in 2012 and its raising is the culmination of three years of careful planning. “The fact that we were able to raise the Ijssel cog in its entirety and in one attempt is a fantastic achievement by the entire team,” lead maritime archaeologist Wouter Waldus said in a statement, according to Live Science. The ship was oriented perpendicular to the river’s flow, and researchers believe that it and two other vessels were sunk with the intention of redirecting the river’s flow to minimize silt buildup. For more, go to “History's 10 Greatest Wrecks...”
