Archaeologists discover 16th-century shipwreck in central Stockholm

A centuries-old shipwreck has been discovered in a water-filled courtyard in central Stockholm, which is a prime area for archaeological discoveries. In a routine check by archaeologists in the Kungsträdgården area, where work to strengthen the foundations of a building was in progress, they found an old wooden hull under the courtyard.

The marine archaeologists analysed the wooden hull and came to a conclusion that it was part of a ship called Samson, commissioned by Charles IX of Sweden in the late 1500s. Speaking to a multi-regional European daily, Philip Tonemar, an archaeologist who carried out the study, said that the rings on the wood date back to 1590s and found a very unusual transition between the old and new era of shipbuilding. 

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The marine archaeologist said that it was fun to make such discovery and acknowledged that it will never happen to him again. The study further discovered that the ship was entirely built with pine and was 30 metres long with detailed design work. According to Tonemar, the ship was abandoned in the early 1600s and was later probably chopped up and left on the shore.

In November, two wrecks of large warships were found in the Swedish Archipelago in a strait leading to Stockholm and at least one of the two ships could be the sister ship of the ‘Vasa’, which sank on its maiden voyage in the 17th century. The Swedish archaeologists found the wrecks outside Vaxholm, an island near Stockholm.

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Astonishing discovery

The maritime archaeologists at the Swedish Museum of wrecks investigated the historical remains in a depression in the sea bottom. The archaeologists found the discovery astonishing and said that it was like swimming around the Vasa ship. The museum said that the stern of the warship was broken but the bow was better preserved and sticks up roughly 5 metres from the bottom of the sea. “The measurements taken and the design details recorded both tally well with the Vasa’s,” said the museum in a statement.

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