Re: Ancient ships found under Oslo mud
- From: TJ <lonelytj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:10:57 -0700 (PDT)
On Aug 29, 8:39 pm, Jack Linthicum <jacklinthi...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Ancient ships found under Oslo mud
The Associated Press
Published: August 29, 2008
OSLO, Norway: The largest collection of antique shipwrecks ever found
in Norway has been discovered under mud at the building site for a new
highway tunnel in Oslo, the project's lead archaeologist said Friday.
Jostein Gundersen said at least nine wooden boats, the largest being
17 meters (56 feet) long, were found well preserved nearly 400 years
after they sank at Bjoervika, an Oslo inlet near the new national
opera house.
"For us, this is a sensation," he told The Associated Press. "There
has never been a find of so many boats and in such good condition at
one site in Norway."
The wrecks were remarkably well preserved because they had been
covered in mud and fresh water, where river waters run into the sea,
he said.
"We have a fantastic opportunity to learn more about old shipbuilding
techniques and the old harbors," said Gundersen of the Norwegian
Maritime Museum in Oslo.
He said the wrecks are believed to have sunk sometime after a massive
fire swept the wooden buildings of old Oslo in 1624. After that
disaster, Danish-Norwegian King Kristian IV ordered the city center
moved before reconstruction started.
The discovered boats were moored at the old port, which became a
remote area after the city was moved. He said the boats may have been
30 or 40 years old when they sank.
"There is nothing to indicate that the ships were deliberately
scuttled," said Gundersen. "They could have sunk one by one, because
of sloppy mooring or poor maintenance, or maybe sank in a storm."
He said the wreckage will be charted and removed as quickly as
possible, so construction of the undersea tunnel can continue. It will
then take years, he said, to examine all the ship's remnants back at
the museum.
Gundersen said the find will help fill gaps in knowledge between
Norwegian Viking ships of roughly 1,000 years ago and more modern
vessels.
___
On the Net:
http://www.norsk-sjofartsmuseum.no
Any photos yet?
.
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