A late medieval wooden ship wreck has been recovered during our watching brief at the Ostwind 2 subsea cable system.

The grid connection project Ostwind 2 of the transmission system operator 50Hertz connects the Baltic Sea wind farms Arcadis Ost 1 and Baltic Eagle northeast of Rügen to the German extra-high voltage grid.

During our supervision of the preparatory dredging work during summer 2021, a wooden shipwreck was identified whose features indicated a medieval date. The wreck was located keeled-over on one of the cable routes. 

After conducting dives to clarify the find situation, we were able to provide the complete infrastructure for the excavation and start the recovery work on the site within just five days. Photogrammetric documentation and a full recovery of the shipwreck was then completed after only seven days.

The ship’s timbers were transported to the State Office for Culture and Monument Preservation Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania depot, where they were measured and documented in full detail with 3D Laser Scanning. An initial analysis of the oakwood used indicated that the wreck was a clinker-built merchant ship constructed in the first half of the 15th century in southwest Sweden. The reason for the sinking is still unclear, but presumably the ship sank elsewhere and only later drifted to its final location.

The subsequent scientific assessment and report should provide further details and allow a three-dimensional reconstruction of the hull.