Wreck of legendary medieval ship found off Finland coast

Finnish archaeologist diver Rauno Koivusaari said his team has found the wreck of a ship that went down with especially valuable cargo on Nov. 20, 1468.

Oak planks, up to one and a half inches thick, are thought to belong to the Hanneke 
Wrome which sank off the north coast of Finland on Nov. 11, 1468 
[Credit: Rauno Koivusaari]

Koivusaari made the remarks in an interview that was published on Friday by Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat with pictures of large oak parts of the ship.

The ship was allegedly one of two vessels that left Luebeck, Germany, for Tallinn on Nov. 11, 1468. Heavy storms forced them to the more northerly coast of Finland. The Hanneke Wrome sank while the other ship managed to get to Tallinn.

According to historic records, the ship carried 10,000 gold coins and various consumer merchandise. As some 200 passengers and crew drowned, the loss of the Hanneke Wrome was one of the major disasters of the time.

Intendant Maija Matikka at the Finnish National Board of Antiquities told the newspaper that final proof of the identity will depend on age definition of the wood.

The Board will participate in further investigations in the coming summer.

Koivusaari is a distinguished Finnish diver who was in charge of a group of divers that discovered the wreck of Vrouw Maria in 1999. The current team included divers from Finland, Sweden and Chile.

Source: Xinhua [May 01, 2015]

TANN

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