400-year-old shipwreck with very rare and expensive cargo found in Croatia. See items
Under the teal blue waters of the Adriatic Sea sat the remnants of a 400-year-old shipwreck. Currents had destroyed its structure. Passing centuries had stripped away its identity.
But, as archaeologists recently discovered, the ship’s very rare and expensive cargo survived.
Scuba diving archaeologists recently returned to excavate a 16th century shipwreck off the coast of Premantura, Croatia, the International Center for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar said in a July 2 news release.
Previous work at the site had uncovered the ship’s iron cannons and various pottery fragments.
This year, archaeologists unearthed much more precious cargo: a large number of brass trumpets, the center said. These musical instruments were considered very rare and expensive at the time the ship sank.
One of the most well-preserved trumpets had the inscription “LVGDVNY BATAVORVM,” the Latin name for the modern-day city of Leiden, the Netherlands, the center wrote in a Facebook post. A photo shows this inscription which appears to be a fragment of the trumpet’s bell.
The 400-year-old trumpets were produced in Leiden and Strasbourg, France, archaeologists said. This finding surprised researchers because no similar trumpets from either city have been preserved.
Based on the surviving cargo, archaeologists believe this wooden ship sailed between modern-day Italy, Turkey and the Netherlands before sinking during a sudden storm.
The original name of the ship remains unknown, but archaeologists suspect it’s a Dutch vessel.
Photos show the 400-year-old shipwreck. Its cargo also included a bright red bowl and other silvery pottery fragments, photos show.
Archaeologists plan to continue excavating the shipwreck and analyzing its artifacts. They hope to find more of the ship’s equipment such as its ropes or pulley systems.
Premantura is a coastal village in northwestern Croatia and a roughly 175-mile drive southwest from the capital city of Zagreb.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release from the International Center for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar.
This story was originally published July 9, 2024 at 12:23 PM with the headline "400-year-old shipwreck with very rare and expensive cargo found in Croatia. See items."
