Christopher Iliffe Sprague (back left) and Ignacio Torroba Balmori (back right), SMaRC, with PhD students from Southampton on the expedition. Photo: Deep Sea Productions/MMT
In the spring of 2019, a research team found an intact shipwreck in the Baltic Sea. The team was aided by SMaRC doctoral students.
The shipwreck’s hull is well preserved from keel to deck, as well as its masts and some rigging. Resting on deck, leaning against the mainmast, is a small wooden boat for ferrying crew members to and from the larger ship. Various rare items are also visible aboard the ancient wreck, including a wooden bilge pump and a capstan, a wide cylinder used for winding up lengths of rope. The ship’s anchor was also visible, and its presence helped date the wreck to the late 15th or early 16th century.