Pride of the Swedish fleet found after almost 500 years!

A group of Scandinavian divers made a spectacular discovery in the waters of the Baltic Sea. They managed to find the wreck of the Swedish vessel “Mars”, sunk in 1564, during the battles with the Danish and Lübeck fleets. Once owned by King Eric XIV Vasa, it was one of the largest and most famous ships of its time.

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The expedition, consisting of technical divers and marine archaeologists, located the remains of the ship at a depth of 75m, about 20km north of Öland. The expedition was led by Richard Lundgren, well known to our readers, who this year, during another expedition, has already found The wreck of a 15th century ship.

“Everything indicates that what we found on the bottom is the wreck of the Swedish ship Mars. Both the size of the wreck and the period it comes from agree. In addition, on one of the cannons, we found the coat of arms of the Swedish royal family. For me personally, this is a childhood dream come true and the biggest discovery I have been involved in,” said Lundgren

“Mars” was a huge vessel built of solid oak, equipped with 107 guns and manned by 800 crew members. She was a ship older and bigger than the Vasa, which after being found in the 1960s was fished out and turned into one of the most magnificent museums. Her end came in 1564, when surrounded by a fleet of 37 ships from Denmark and Lübeck, after two days of fighting, she sank due to an explosion of gunpowder on board.

“The wreck lies on the port side and is relatively well preserved, especially considering the circumstances of its sinking. A trace of the explosion was left in the form of a huge hole in the starboard side. We have waited a long time to find this wreck.” – reports Andreas Olsson, head of the archaeological department at the Maritime History Museum in Stockholm.

The site of the find has been secured. Activities will soon begin to thoroughly examine the wreck and its resting place. It is not yet known what fate will befall the latest find, perhaps, just as “Vasa” will be raised and turned into a tourist attraction? One thing is certain, the “Mars” is a priceless find and is, so far, the crown jewel of the year 2011, which abounds in discoveries on the Baltic.

Source: aftonbladet.se
Foto:Sjohistoriska Museet/Scanpix/Ingemar Lundgren