Naval shipwreck emerges in Sweden after being buried underwater for 400 years

A 17th-century Swedish navy shipwreck buried underwater in central Stockholm for 400 years has suddenly become visible due to unusually low levels of the Baltic Sea, marking the last century-old ship found in the country’s waters.

Since the beginning of February, the wooden planks of the well-preserved hull of the ship have been looming above the water surface in front of the island of Kastellholmen, offering a clear image of its skeleton.

“Here we have a shipwreck that was intentionally sunk by the Swedish navy,” Jim Hansson, a marine archaeologist at the Vrak – Stockholm Shipwreck Museum, told News.

Hansson said experts believe that after serving in the navy, the ship was scuttled around 1640 to be used as a base for a new bridge to the island of Kastellholmen.

Archaeologists have yet to identify the exact ship, as it is one of five similar shipwrecks lined up in the same area to form the bridge, all from the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

“This is a solution, instead of using new wood you can use the hull itself, which is made of oak” to build the bridge, Hansson said.

“Here in the Baltic we don’t have shipworms that eat the wood, so, you see, it lasts 400 years,” he said, standing in front of the wreck.

Parts of the ship had already surfaced in 2013, but it had never before been so visible as now, when the waters of the Baltic Sea reach their lowest level in about 100 years, according to the archaeologist.

“Here in our area in the Nordic countries there has been a very long period of high pressure, so the water from the Baltic has been pushed into the North Sea and the Atlantic,” Hansson explained.

A research program called “The Lost Armada” is being carried out to accurately identify and date the large number of Swedish naval shipwrecks lying at the bottom of the Baltic.

Several shipwrecks and relics have been found in the region in recent years.

In April 2024, researchers exploring an ancient shipwreck off the coast of Sweden discovered centuries-old artifacts, including a weapon chest and armor pieces.

In July 2024, a team of divers discovered a massive haul of champagne and wine about a shipwreck at the bottom of the Baltic Sea off Sweden. The precious cargo was later declared out of bounds by the government.

In October 2022, Swedish maritime archaeologists discovered the long lost sister ship of the iconic 17th century Vasa warship, which sank on its maiden voyage. The Vasa has been on display in Stockholm since the 1960s, after being rescued from the ocean floor.