The wreck of the Äpplet, sister ship to the famous 17th-century warship Vasa, found in Sweden
Unlike the Vasa, whose salvaged wreck is now a Stockholm museum, the wreck of the Äpplet had eluded marine archaeologists for a long time.
The Apple was the sister ship to the Vasa, which sank on its maiden voyage.
Jim Hanson
Both ships were created by shipbuilder Hein Jacobsson, with the Apple an improvement on the poor design that made the Vasa unstable, The museum says so in a statement.
After serving in Europe’s 30-year war, the Äpplet was deliberately sunk in Vaxholm in the Stockholm archipelago in 1659, when it was deemed seaworthy.
An ancient shipwreck was found off the coast of Israel with artifacts from across the Mediterranean, contradicting a major archaeological theory.
In cooperation with the Swedish Navy, Vraks marine archaeologists first discovered the wreck in December 2021, but they identified it as the Apple only in the spring of this year, after a more in-depth study of the ship’s dimensions, construction, wood samples and archives.
Patrik Höglund, maritime archaeologist at Vrak, told CNN the discovery was “astounding” because they believed “there was nothing left of wrecks in the area.”
The oak used for Äpplet’s timber was felled in the same place as the timber for Vasa, which further points to the wreck’s identity.
Jim Hanson
The seabed in the area had been covered with rocks in the 19th century and dredged in the early 20th century, so archaeologists thought there was nothing else to find, he explained.
In a statement, Jim Hansson, a maritime archaeologist at Vrak who also worked on the discovery, said the team’s “pulses spiked” at the similarities between the dimensions and construction of the wreck and Vasa’s.
Analysis of the wreck found that the oak for its timber was felled in 1627 in Stockholm’s Mälardal, where Vasa’s timber was also obtained.
Wreck archaeologists previously believed that two shipwrecks found off Vaxholm in 2019 were the remains of the Äpplet, but investigations revealed that they were the ships Apollo and Maria, built in 1648.
Most of the hull up to the height of the lower battery deck has been preserved and protrudes six to seven meters (20-23 feet) from the sea floor, according to the museum.
The team made dives to the wreck to take samples.
Anders Nasberg
Speaking about the significance of the find, Hansson described it as “another important piece of the puzzle in the development of the Swedish shipbuilding industry.”
Höglund added in a statement that the Apple will help them understand how the “large warships evolved from the unstable Vasa into seaworthy behemoths that could control the Baltic Sea – a decisive factor in Sweden’s emergence as a great power in the 17th century.”
The apple’s wreck is located in a protected military area, which means that diving is prohibited unless accompanied by Swedish navy divers. There are no plans to salvage the wreck, Höglund told CNN, but they will make a 3D image of it.