Archaeologists and divers from the National Maritime Museum in Gdansk have completed their research of the wreck F53.30. The exploration of the site took place within the framework of the project “Virtual Skansen Wrecks of the Gulf of Gdansk” and brought unusual results. “Szklany” is probably the remains of a Gdansk merchant ship from the second half of the 17th century.

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The wreck of F53.30 was discovered in 2013 by employees of the Maritime Office in Gdynia during research in the Gulf of Gdansk. The National Maritime Museum in Gdansk was informed about the discovery, and a team of divers and underwater archaeologists made a preliminary examination of the find. However, the detailed inventory had to be postponed because a torpedo fragment was found on the wreck, which was removed last year by the Navy.

The three-week study of the site, completed at the end of June, was the culmination of months of preparation. – “We have established that the ‘Szklany’ is the remains of a merchant ship from the second half of the 17th century and carried barrels with iron bars and glass bottles of various sizes and shapes. The bottles have tin caps, and some of them bear the punches of one of the seventeenth-century Gdansk confectioners,” adds Tomasz Bednarz, head of the team conducting research on the wreck F53.30. The research team includes an underwater archaeologist, Janusz Różycki, and divers – Wojciech Joński and Zbigniew Jarocki.

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The liquids in the bottles will be analysed in the near future. In the near future we will also learn the results of dendrochronological analyses of the wood used to build the ship, which will allow us to precisely determine the time of construction and operation of the vessel. On some of the barrels there are merchant’s merks, i.e. signs of ownership of the cargo transported on the ship. Museum archaeologists will attempt to identify the markings on the barrels. In addition, three cannons, ranging in length from 1.5 to 2 metres, were discovered on the wreck and have been excavated.

“The wreck is a valuable historical object mainly due to the cargo which has been preserved in a relatively good condition ,” believes Dr Jerzy Litwin, the director of the National Maritime Museum, “ The scientific value of the object is comparable to other wrecks explored so far on the Polish Baltic coast, such as the “Solen”, “General Carleton of Whitby” or “De Jonge Seerp”. However, the only previously explored wreck with a Gdansk cargo was the 15th century ‘Coppersmith’, now joined by the ‘Szklany’, which has provided additional information about a 17th century freight from Gdansk.”

The research of the object was conducted within the framework of a two-year project entitled: “The Virtual Open-Air Museum of Wrecks in the Gulf of Gdańsk. Inventory of underwater archaeological heritage”. The task was co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. The author and project manager is Tomasz Bednarz.

Source: National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk