Archaeologists explore wreck off the port of Gdańsk
Share
Archaeologists from the Central Maritime Museum in Gdańsk document five wrecks from fifteenth to eighteenth century, discovered in 2010 near Westerplatte peninsula.
The project leader is Dr. Waldemar Ossowski. The main part of the
project is completed, however, in October, archaeologists will return
the wreck they consider most interesting: the medieval ship "Falburt".
Port of Gdańsk was a very busy place between the sixteenth and the
eighteenth century. According to estimates, more than 2 thousand ships
from all over Europe called at this port every year.
"The annals
of Gdańsk and the correspondence of the city council contain information
about more than 200 ships that have been damaged or sunk in the Gulf of
Gdańsk. So far only a small part of them have been found" - said Dr.
Ossowski.
The problem is the changing coastline. Some of the
ships that sank centuries ago, are now on land covered with piles of mud
and earth.
Scientists named the area that became the target of
research the "Bay of Wrecks" because of the large number of newly
discovered ships located in a small area enclosed by breakwaters: from
the east by the North Port, and from the west by the entrance to the
port of Gdańsk.
Studies with specialized equipment helped locate
five ships, determine the depth and area in which they lay. At this
stage of research, Dr Andrzej Osadczuk of the Department of Marine
Geology, Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Szczecin joined the
project.
"After clearing the ships of mud, we prepared sketch
and photographic documentation of some of them. First, we looked at the
vessel we called the "Falburt". Previous work indicates that we are
dealing with an exceptionally well-preserved Holka hull (a type of
commercial sailing ship) from the turn of the fourteenth and
fifteenth century" - said Dr. Ossowski.
Archaeologists have
inventoried the upper side of the ship, which usually is not preserved
to our time. Experts do not exclude that the ship fell victim to the
great storm of 1394, which sank 60 boats and ships near Gdańsk.
Another inventoried wreck is the vessel with a work name "Smuga". It is a 19-metre river boat turned upside down.
"An
unusual position has allowed insight into the structural details
forming a bottom seal. The builders used moss, which, through a wooden
slat, was pressed with buckles in the grooves between boards" - said Dr.
Ossowski.
According to archaeologists, all preservedc details
indicate a high degree of similarity between "Smuga" and a boat
discovered two years ago in Czersk near Warsaw. This makes it the second
known wreck of Vistula floating ship from fifteenth to eighteenth
century.
Archaeologists also examined the sail-ship "West", which
carried a cargo of quern-stones from south-eastern Sweden and the
commercial sailing vessel from the second half of the sixteenth or the
first half of the seventeenth century,
Inventory of wrecks in the
area of the entrance to the port of Gdańsk is financed by the Ministry
of Culture and National Heritage within the task "Inventory of wrecks in
the area of the entrance to the port of Gdansk" of the Cultural
Heritage programme, Protection of Archaeological Monuments priority.
Archaeologists explore wreck off the port of Gdańsk
EN 
CS
DE
ES
FR
HU
IT
PL
PT
РУ
SK
TR
УК
AR
中文
