Nineteenth-Century Shipwreck Found in Baltic Sea

News November 2, 2016

(© Jerry Wilhelmsson-BUE)
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Finland shipwreck bottles
(© Jerry Wilhelmsson-BUE)

MARIEHAMN, FINLAND—The Local, Sweden, reports that local divers discovered a mid-nineteenth-century shipwreck in the Baltic Sea, off the coast of the Âland Islands. The well-preserved vessel still had its anchor and figurehead, along with hundreds of intact, unopened bottles. “It’s quite rare to find a wreck in this condition with cargo intact at a relatively shallow depth,” said Magnus Melin of Baltic Underwater Explorers. The non-profit group has received permission from local authorities to retrieve some of the bottles. Analysis of their contents could help identify the wreck. “We don’t know at the moment what will happen after that, but more non-destructive documentation will be done to identify the wreck,” Melin said. To read about a well-known Swedish shipwreck, go to “Mary Rose and Vasa.”

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