Divers Find Sunken 17th-Century Ship off Swedish Coast
Amateur divers have discovered a sunken ship they believe is a Swedish royal navy vessel that went down off Stockholm in 1660 with a cargo of gold and jewels, they said Thursday.
The divers said they had not found the Resande Man's precious cargo, which the ship was carrying to Poland as a gift from the Swedish government when it sank in the Baltic Sea in November 1660.
"Obviously we were hoping to discover it," one of the divers, photographer Peter Jademyr, told Agence France Presse. But he said the team of five divers still hoped to find the treasure.
The divers located the ship, whose name means "Travelling Man", on May 17 off Sweden's southeastern coast just south of Stockholm, Jademyr said.
"It's in rather poor shape," he said, while adding that the divers are "99 percent" sure the wreck is the Resande Man.
"There are a lot of indications that this is really it: the location, its appearance, the objects we've found. The only thing that could confirm it 100 percent is the ship's bell, which had its name inscribed."
Marine archaeologist Johan Roennby told AFP the ship was found 20 meters (66 feet) deep.
Divers said it measured 25 meters long by seven meters wide -- half the size of the Vasa, the prize ship in the Swedish war fleet, which sank on its maiden voyage in 1628 and is now in the Vasa Museum after being salvaged in 1961 and restored.
In August last year divers found the Mars, the flagship of king Erik XIV's fleet which sank in the Baltic in 1564 during a major battle against the Danish fleet.
Source: Agence France Presse
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