The wreckage was found about 20 nautical miles off the Swedish coast.
A team of divers has discovered a 19th century shipwreck off the coast of Sweden “loaded up to the side” with historical artefacts, including 100 bottles of champagne.
The wreck was discovered in the Baltic Sea, about 20 nautical miles off the Swedish coast, by a team of Polish technical divers from the organisation BalticTec.
“We came across a 19th century sailing ship in very good condition. The sides of the ship were loaded with champagne, wine, mineral water and porcelain,” said Baltic Tech diver Tomasz Stachura. press release this week.
Stachura said it was difficult for divers to determine exactly how much liquor was on board, but acknowledged they “definitely” saw more than 100 bottles.
Interestingly, it wasn’t alcohol that intrigued the divers, but mineral water served in clay bottles, which, according to Stachura, “was treated almost like a medicine and only found its way to royal tables in the 19th century.”
“The value of the items was so great that the transport was escorted by police,” Stachura added.
Historians have determined that the stamp on the German brand Selters mineral water dates it to between 1850 and 1867, according to Stachura, who has been in contact with the still-operating brand.
“The pottery factory where this water is bottled also exists and we are in contact with them to find out more details,” Stachura said.
Stachura said when the team first spotted the wreck with sonar on July 11, they thought it was a fishing boat.
“We had already done one dive that day and at first we doubted whether anyone would be willing to dive,” Stachura said, adding that fellow divers Marek Kakai and Pawel Trzynski then decided to take on the now-historic dive.
For now, the wreck remains in the Baltic Sea, outside Sweden’s economic zone, said Stachura, who is collaborating on the wreck with the Marie Stella Maris Foundation, Södertörn University and Johan Lumbey, Sweden’s professor of all underwater research.
