Herbs and spices found on Scandinavian shipwreck

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Swedish archaeologists have found many plants aboard a sunken Scandinavian ship from the 1400s.

The incredible discovery was made by Mikael Larsson and Brendan Foley of Lund University, publishing their findings in the journal PLOS ONE.

The ship in question sank at the end of the 15th century. The Danish king Hans was to meet with the Swedish ruler Sten Sture the Elder for a deal that would give him control of Sweden as part of a unified Scandinavian kingdom. caught fire and went to the bottom. After that, instead of concluding an agreement, the Danish king attacked the Swedes.

The sunken ship was found back in the 60s. Luxury items and other items were searched on board. In 2019-2021, two Swedish archaeologists conducted a new study and found containers with more than 3,000 samples of well-preserved plant material.

algae deposits reach a depth of 40 cm in and around the wreck. As algae decompose, local areas of oxygen depletion appear, characterized by the presence of organic matter. These factors contribute to the excellent preservation of archaeological finds, especially plant foods carried on board the ship,” — the researchers explained.

Almonds, ginger, saffron and peppercorns were found on board in excellent condition, as well as spices such as cloves, mustard, dill and nutmeg. Some spices were from Indonesia.

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