Current:Home > InvestWeapons chest and chain mail armor found in ancient shipwreck off Sweden-LoTradeCoin
Weapons chest and chain mail armor found in ancient shipwreck off Sweden
View Date:2024-12-23 23:41:04
Researchers exploring an ancient shipwreck off the coast of Sweden discovered centuries-old relics, including a weapons chest and pieces of armor.
The maritime archaeologists from Stockholm University and Södertörn University studied the wreck of the Griffin, which sank after a fire aboard in 1495, according to a news release from Stockholm University. The ship was the flagship of the Danish-Norwegian King John, also known as Hans, who ruled from 1481 to 1513. The report published this month details their research.
The wreck is "partly disintegrated," the news release said, but some of the pieces that remain on the seabed are "very well preserved." Archaeologists found floor timbers that provided insights into the ship's structure and military capability, as well as parts from elevated combat platforms that were built on the ship. The discoveries have "provided new data for the ongoing work of reconstructing and analysing the ship's superstructure," the news release said, and will allow reserachers to reconstruct the ship in the future.
Amid the wreck, the researchers found a "unique" ammunition-making tool chest that contained lead plates and cans that may have held powder. Researchers had been aware of the chest since 2019 but had not been able to closely study it until last year, when they used 3-D imaging to view the contents.
"The contents of the weapon chest are undeniably one of the most important finds," said Rolf Warming, one of the lead maritime archaelogists, in the news release. "It contains, among other things, several different molds and lead plates for the manufacture of lead bullets for early handguns."
The chest likely came from German mercenaries on board the ship when it sank, Warming said. Researchers also found two cannon carriages amid the wreck.
The armor fragments that archaeologists may be from a mail shirt that might have had up to 150,000 rings, according to the news release.
The weapons and armor found have given researchers a glimpse into what combat at sea looked like during this time period, the news release said.
"The ship is an important piece of the puzzle in the 'military revolution at sea' in the Early Modern Period, in which the primary tactics shifted from hand-to-hand combat to heavy naval artillery fire," Warming said, adding that the ship is comparable to other preserved wrecks including the Mars and the Vasa, which has been on display in Stockholm, Sweden since the 1960s after being salvaged from the ocean floor.
- In:
- Shipwreck
- Oceans
- Sweden
- Stockholm
Kerry Breen is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University's Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News' TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.
TwitterveryGood! (95834)
Related
- SNL's Chloe Fineman Says Rude Elon Musk Made Her Burst Into Tears as Show Host
- Connecticut lawmakers seek compromise on switch to all-electric cars, after ambitious plan scrapped
- Michael Douglas gets lifetime achievement award at International Film Festival of India in Goa
- You can only watch it here: Exclusive release of Netflix's trailer USWNT 'Under Pressure'
- 'I heard it and felt it': Chemical facility explosion leaves 11 hospitalized in Louisville
- New Zealand leader plans to ban cellphone use in schools and end tobacco controls in first 100 days
- Activist who acknowledged helping flip police car during 2020 protest sentenced to 1 year in prison
- Writer John Nichols, author of ‘The Milagro Beanfield War’ with a social justice streak, dies at 83
- Stock market today: Asian stocks dip as Wall Street momentum slows with cooling Trump trade
- Fake babies, real horror: Deepfakes from the Gaza war increase fears about AI’s power to mislead
Ranking
- NFL playoff picture Week 10: Lions stay out in front of loaded NFC field
- Kuwait’s ruling emir, 86, was hospitalized due to an emergency health problem but reportedly stable
- Activist who acknowledged helping flip police car during 2020 protest sentenced to 1 year in prison
- Illinois man wins $25K a year for life from lottery ticket after clerk's lucky mistake
- Homes of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce burglarized, per reports
- Investor Charlie Munger, the longtime business partner of Warren Buffett, has died
- Kenya court strikes out key clauses of a finance law as economic woes deepen from rising public debt
- Georgia’s state taxes at fuel pumps to resume as Brian Kemp’s tax break ends, at least for now
Recommendation
-
Shaboozey to headline halftime show of Lions-Bears game on Thanksgiving
-
Hunter Biden willing to testify before House Oversight Committee in public hearing, lawyer says
-
Trump embraces the Jan. 6 rioters on the trail. In court, his lawyers hope to distance him from them
-
Connecticut woman sues Chopt restaurants after allegedly chewing on a portion of a human finger in a salad
-
Kentucky gets early signature win at Champions Classic against Duke | Opinion
-
What freshman guard D.J. Wagner's injury means for Kentucky basketball's backcourt
-
Michigan man says he'll live debt-free after winning $1 million Mega Millions prize
-
See Jennifer Garner Hilariously Show Off All of the Nuts Hidden in Her Bag