Archaeologists from Vrak – Museum of Wrecks in Stockholm, Sweden have discovered a warship at the bottom of the ocean off the Swedish coast, the museum announced on Monday.
The warship, which goes by the name Äpplet, dates back to the early 17th century, the museum said, adding that it is said to be the sister ship of Vasa, another Swedish warship built between 1626 and 1628, as the two were built by the same shipbuilder. Of the two ships, Vasa was constructed first.
Through measurement data, wood samples, and the ship's technical details, maritime archaeologists confirmed that, as suspected, the ship was Vasa's sister ship.
While the shipwreck was initially discovered in December of last year, it was not until the spring that ship details that had only been seen on the Vasa vessel were found, the museum said.
“Our pulses spiked when we saw how similar the wreck was to Vasa,” says Jim Hansson, a maritime archaeologist at the museum. “Both the construction and the powerful dimensions seemed very familiar."
“Our pulses spiked when we saw how similar the wreck was to Vasa. Both the construction and the powerful dimensions seemed very familiar."
Jim Hansson
A false alarm three years ago
The Vrak Museum's archaeologists thought they had found the Äpplet vessel three years ago, but were two smaller ships that were constructed two decades later called Apollo and Maria, according to the report.
Swedish researchers say that these discoveries will help them understand how the large warships evolved.