700-year-old surprisingly preserved ship discovered in Estonia

A 700-year-old ship, stunningly preserved, has been discovered in Estonia. The ship was reportedly part of the Hanseatic League – a powerful trading network stretching from England to Russia, Daily Mail reported.

A 700-year-old ship that was part of the Hanseatic League has been found just five feet beneath the streets of Tallin. The 80ft-long vessel, thought to be a 13th-century Hanseatic cog, was found during construction work in the Estonian capital.

Examples of a ship being preserved in such good condition are rare, the most famous example is Bremen Cog which was discovered in Germany in 1962.

However, the latest discovered wreck is in even better shape than the Bremen Cog, claims archaeologist Mihkel Tammet.

He said, ‘It’s very good compared to the Bremen Cog.’

Mihkel added that the ship is 24 metres long and nine metres wide. The boards are intact up to three meters from the bottom of the ship.

Explaining the structure of the ship Tammet added, ‘It is built using massive oak logs and planks. The ship has overlapping planking, sealed with animal hair and tar.’

He said that they have found wool material used for packing, and they have also found some tools and fragments of medieval leather shoes.

He added that he and his team hope to find more in the ongoing excavations.

In 2008, another historic wreck was been found 164ft (50 metres) away from the location of this one. So when construction began on a new office building, Tammet was called upon to supervise in case of further discoveries.

Tammet claimed that the whole area was underwater.

He said, ‘This area was still under the sea in the 18th century.’

‘800 years ago we had almost two metres of water here.

‘There were probably shallower underwater sand ridges which were hard to map because they changed their shape and location because of ice drifts and storms.

‘Our ship was found on one of these ridges under the sediments. It sank close to the Härjapea river mouth.’

The ship was found 1.5m underground at a site near Tallinn harbour, close to the former mouth of the Härjapea River – a waterway that no longer exists

As the Hanseatic League grew, it established a virtual monopoly over maritime trade in the Baltic – and the cog was its ship of choice

According to Dialy Mail, the ship would be now taken to a new home.

A team member said,’ The wreck will be removed from its current position to allow the construction work to continue.’