Marine archaeologists in Norway have pulled up an impressive collection of Chinese porcelain and European artifacts from an 18th-century shipwreck recently discovered in waters off the country’s coast, according to government and museum officials who announced the find Monday.
The Norwegian Maritime Museum reports that divers retrieved carefully packed blue and white porcelain bowls, drinking vessels, fabric, grain, and chandelier components from what remains of the unidentified sailing vessel.
According to the museum, a salvage company owner discovered the wreck in the Skagerrak strait waters near southern Norway. The vessel, thought to have gone down sometime during the mid-1700s, sits approximately 600 meters below the surface.
Norway’s Minister of Climate and Environment, Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, praised the discovery in an official statement: “This find is not only extraordinary, it’s also of considerable scientific value and demonstrates an important technological advancement in underwater archaeology.”
While researchers have yet to determine where the ship originated or its intended destination, the Maritime Museum indicates that investigation into the wreck and its contents continues.
