A team of divers has uncovered a 19th-century shipwreck off the coast of Sweden, brimming with historical artifacts, including over 100 bottles of champagne.
The shipwreck was located in the Baltic Sea, about 20 nautical miles from the Swedish coast, by a group of Polish technical divers from Baltictech.
“We encountered a 19th-century sailing ship in very good condition, loaded to the sides with champagne, wine, mineral water, and porcelain,” Baltictech diver Tomasz Stachura said in a press release this week.
Stachura noted that while it was challenging to determine the exact quantity of champagne aboard, they confirmed seeing more than 100 bottles.
Interestingly, it wasn’t the alcohol that captured the divers’ interest, but the mineral water in clay bottles. Stachura explained that this water was “treated almost like medicine and only found its way to royal tables” in the 19th century.
“Its value was so precious that transports were escorted by the police,” Stachura added.
Historians identified the stamp on the mineral water bottles as belonging to the German brand Selters, produced between 1850 and 1867. Stachura mentioned that he has been in contact with the brand, which is still in business.
“The pottery factory into which the water was bottled also exists, and we are in contact with them to find out more details,” Stachura said.
Initially, when the team spotted the wreck via sonar on July 11, they believed it to be a fishing boat. “We were already after one dive that day and at first, there were doubts whether there would be anyone willing to go down,” Stachura said. However, fellow divers Marek Cacaj and Pawel Truszynski decided to take the now-historic plunge.
For now, the shipwreck remains in the Baltic Sea outside of economic waters. Stachura is collaborating on the wreck with the Marie-Stella-Maris Foundation, Södertörn University, and Professor Johan Rönnby, who oversees all underwater research in Sweden.
Source: ABC News
