LAKE CONSTANCE, GERMANY—Artnet reports that researchers seeking to comprehensively document shipwrecks in the alpine Lake Constance successfully recorded 31 sunken vessels. The lake borders Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The wide variety of wrecks highlights the body of water’s important role as a nexus of regional trade as well as a spot for travel and leisure. The project, which was initiated by the State Office for Monument Preservation, used bathymetric mapping, side-scanning sonar, ROVs, and divers to carefully probe the 207-square-mile lake, which reaches depths of 800 feet. Among the highlights was a fully preserved cargo ship that still had its mast and yardarm intact, which researchers called a “rarity in underwater archaeology.” Two other noteworthy finds are believed to be the wrecks of the pioneering paddle steamers, the SD Baden and the SD Friedrichshafen II, which ferried as many as 600 passengers each across the lake. The Baden was decommissioned in 1930 and eventually sank, while the Friedrichshafen II was destroyed in a World War II air raid. “Wrecks are far more than just lost vessels,” said project researcher Alexandra Ulisch. “They are true time capsules that preserve the stories and craftsmanship of days long gone.” To read about efforts to record World War I wrecks in the Irish Sea, go to "An Undersea Battlefield."
