An incredible discovery of 12 shipwrecks, some of them centuries-old, were found in the Baltic Sea by a gas company constructing an underwater pipeline.
According to a report by the Associated Press on Tuesday, March 9, Peter Norman of Sweden’s National Heritage Board said that the oldest wreck could date back 800 years, and the others appear to be anywhere from the 17th to 19th centuries.
The wrecks were discovered by a gas company called Nord Stream which is building pipelines between Russia and Germany. The company spokeswoman said the wrecks were found in a 30 mile long and 1.2 mile wide corridor.
Pictures were taken of the wrecks and according to Swedish marine archaeology experts, they could be of extremely high historic value.
Nord Stream has promised to avoid comprising the shipwrecks when they began their construction in April.
The ships are at a depth of 430 feet which would make salvaging extremely difficult and require highly skilled divers. According to the heritage board, at least three of the wrecks have hulls which are intact.
To date, Sweden’s most famous discovery is the royal warship Vasa which was raised in 1961, over 300 years after it sank on its maiden voyage. Currently, the Vasa is in a Stockholm museum.
