Image: A photo-based map of the wreck pieces and a magnetic map. Credit: M. Grabowski 2023 / LaKD M-V in Grabowski et al. 2026
by Sandee Oster
In 2023, in preparation for the construction of an underwater gas pipeline, divers were sent to clear a cluster of anomalies in the Bay of Greifswald, a sheltered lagoon in northern Germany. But as they dove deeper into the murky depths, they discovered things they had not expected: shoe soles, pulley blocks, and a rusty anchor.
They had found a previously unknown shipwreck, built roughly 400 years ago. A preliminary report published in the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology describes the findings of the hurried rescue excavation.
Although barely any of the ship survives, the find offers a small piece of evidence about what once sailed across this stretch of the Baltic Sea.
“When I saw the collection of artifacts in the photograph, it occurred to me that they must have come from a wreck,” MichaĆ Grabowski, an underwater archaeologist at the University of Warsaw, said.
Read the full article on Phys.org:
https://phys.org/news/2026-09-year-shipwreck-pipeline-survey-germany.html
