The Crown Princess is knowledgeable and dedicated when it comes to maritime issues, especially concerning the Baltic Sea. During our trip to the Osmund wreck, she seized the opportunity to learn more about the history of Swedish iron making and experience firsthand one of all the well-preserved wrecks lying at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.
Maritime archaeologists from the museum dived down to the wreck and checked that no looting or other damage had been done. As they filmed what they did, the Crown Princess could follow their efforts in real time and talk to the archaeologists via a screen inside the boat. The museum has adopted this technology for maritime archaeology investigations so that anyone can use their mobile or computer to dive down to the Baltic Sea’s unique cultural heritage right at home from the comfort of their sofa.
A time capsule
By pure chance, an ancient shipwreck was discovered in 2017 in the Stockholm archipelago, outside Dalarö. The ship had Nordic features and was built of Uppland pine felled during the 1540s. The ship was likely a type called a hulk.
The wreck is well preserved and rests heavily on the bottom, carrying a unique cargo of osmund iron.
“This is a completely untouched time capsule from Gustav Vasa’s heyday,” says Jim Hansson, maritime archaeologist at the museum. “Thanks to the Osmund wreck, we can learn more about how Sweden’s iron exports took off and which ships they sailed with. The ship is part of the answer to the question of how Sweden became the Sweden we know today.”
Iron made Sweden
“Never before has there been a wreck found in Swedish waters with this much osmund iron in the cargo,” says Catarina Karlsson, coordinator of historical metallurgy research at Jernkontoret. “The finds of both osmunds and bar iron tell of a transitional period straddling two production techniques.”
Background
The wreck’s archaeologists had previously examined the wreck and found large quantities of osmund iron on board, which is why the wreck was named the Osmund wreck. Osmunds are small, standard-size lumps of iron weighing just under three hectograms each that Sweden exported from the early Middle Ages up to the early 17th century.
In 2018, Jernkontoret’s historical metallurgy research committee initiated a research project to study the Osmund wreck, the ship’s cargo, the origin of the iron and the shipping route. The project is a collaboration between Jernkontoret and the museum, and it has attracted much interest worldwide in this research. Learn more about it on Jernkontoret’s website.
For more information, images and film footage, contact:
Cecilia Eriksson, Press Contact for Museum of Wrecks. Phone: +46-76-607 58 78.
Gustav Henschen Ingvar, Communicator at Jernkontoret. Phone: +46-8-679 17 18.
Vrak – Museum of Wrecks
The Museum of Wrecks is a new museum dedicated to telling the history of the unique wrecks and remains in the Baltic Sea. Nowhere else in the world are there as many well-preserved wooden shipwrecks as in the Baltic Sea. The Museum of Wrecks brings their stories to the surface, while leaving the wrecks themselves and other objects on the seafloor where they are best preserved. The museum is the sister museum of the Vasa Museum and part of the state-run National Maritime and Transport Museums.
Jernkontoret – The industry association for Swedish iron and steel producers
Jernkontoret was founded in 1747 and has since been owned by Swedish iron and steel companies. The association represents the iron and steel industry in matters concerning trade policy, research and education, standardization, energy, the environment, sustainability and transport issues. In addition to leading collaborative Nordic steel research, Jernkontoret also compiles industry statistics and conducts historical metallurgy research.
