Archaeologists are convinced they have recovered the last ship to be wrecked during the Battle of Fehmarn in 1644. In that battle, a Swedish-Dutch fleet almost completely destroyed the Danish opponent: only two of the seventeen ships escaped.
The wreck was found off the coast of the Danish island of Lolland during the construction of an underwater tunnel towards Germany. At a depth of only 3.5 meters, ballast stones were found first, followed by wreckage and bronze cannons.
The researchers determined that the wood must be felled after 1572. In addition, traces of great heat were found on the guns and the wood, whatever according to them that the ship will be sunk by fire.
Delmenhorst
The naval battle was fought on the sidelines of the Thirty Years’ War, a lingering religious conflict in which Protestant and Catholic states fought for supremacy in Europe. Denmark tried to prevent Sweden from gaining control over the Sound, the strait to the Baltic Sea. The Republic of the United Netherlands supported Sweden because of the lucrative trade in the region.
In the naval battle, the Netherlands lost one ship, but ten Danish ships were captured. Five others sank or were sunk. In 2012, a wrecked Danish ship and the sunken Swarte Arent were found nearby.
The researchers believe that the ship now recovered was the Delmenhorst. That ship was sailed onto a sandbank by the Danes, so that it was protected by a coastal battery. However, the enemy sent a fire ship towards it, causing it to sink.
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