We found a treasure! Check this out...
Another trip to Sweden, during which we checked all the items on our list. One of the wrecks on the sonar was barely scratching and looked like a fishing boat. We were already after one dive that day and at first there were doubts whether there would be anyone willing to go down. Marek Cacaj and Pawel Truszynski showed a lot of determination and said that they would do a quick dive and they had been gone for almost 2 hours, so we already knew that there was something very interesting on the bottom.
We encountered a 19th century sailing ship in very good condition, loaded to the sides with champagne, wine, mineral water and porcelaine. There was so much of it that it was difficult for us to judge the quantities We certainly saw more than 100 bottles of champagne and baskets of mineral water in clay bottles. And it was this water that proved most interesting and led us to further clues. In those days, mineral water, was treated almost like medicine and only found its way to royal tables. Its value was so precious that transports were escorted by the police. We came across about 100 sealed bottles of #Selters water. This is a German producer which still exists, and its products are still considered exquisite. Thanks to the shape of the stamp and with historians help, we know that our shipment was produced between 1850-1867. Interestingly, the pottery factory into which the water was bottled also exists, and we are in contact with them to find out more details.
The wreck rests dozens of miles south of Sweden, outside Polish territorial and economic waters.
We are in contact with the #MARIS Foundation, Södertörn University and personally with Professor Johan Rönnby, who is in charge of all underwater research in Sweden. We have guidelines on how to proceed now and be able to explore the wreck together in the future. We will try to give you more information at the Baltictech 2024 Conference, please join us!
Team:
Tomasz Stachura
Marek Cacaj
Pawel Truszynski
Michal Iwicki
Maciej Honc
Pawel Wilk
Ship: M/Y ESPACE
Photos:
Tomasz Stachura
Marek Cacaj
