The “Osmund wreck” is every marine archaeologist’s wet dream.
Well-preserved finds dating to the time of Gustav Vasa are now being salvaged.
– This is one of the coolest things I’ve done, says marine archaeologist Jim Hansson to TV4 Nyheterna.
The wreck of the old merchant ship lies off Dalarö in the Stockholm archipelago, and is approximately twenty meters long and seven meters wide.
The rig is basically intact, and one of the masts still stands upright and measures eighteen meters.
But the most interesting finds are in the cargo – where marine archaeologists found up to a hundred barrels filled with so-called osmunds.
– It is the older export item of iron that we have extremely poor control over, says marine archaeologist and project manager Jim Hansson.
– It was an important export item in the Middle Ages and into the 17th century, and this is the first find of this kind that we have found in Sweden, even though it is a Swedish export item.
“Detective work” the most fun
In addition to the barrels, marine archaeologists have found a copper pot that the crew cooked in. They have also found soup ladles, dried fish and antlers from either a reindeer or an elk.
It is not known why the boat sank nor exactly where the ship was headed, but they hope to find out in the future.
Jim Hansson describes this “detective work” as the most enjoyable part of the job.
– It’s like opening the door to the middle of the 16th century, and that’s unique to marine archaeology, he says.
– This is from Gustav Vasa’s heyday and now we can start looking at what life was like on board, how the ship was constructed, and what cargo it was carrying. We haven’t been able to figure that out until now, so this is completely unique.