Maritime archaeologists from Vrak in Sweden have discovered the wreck of the 17th century warship Äpplet (The Apple), as Vrak, the country´s Museum of Wrecks, announced on Monday. Launched in 1629, Äpplet was built by the same shipbuilder as the Vasa ship one year earlier.
“Measurement data, the ship’s technical details, wood samples and archival data confirm that it is indeed Äpplet, Vasa’s sister ship”, as it has been said in the statement.
While a shipwreck was initially discovered in December of last year, it was not until the spring of 2022 that ship details that had only been seen on the Vasa vessel were found.
“A second more thorough survey was conducted in the spring of 2022. During those dives, ship details were found that had so far only been seen in Vasa, and several samples and analyses were made. It emerged that the oak for the ship’s timber was felled in 1627 in Mälardalen – in the same place as Vasa’s timber just a few years earlier”, as the museum says.
The Vrak Museum’s archaeologists thought they had found the Äpplet vessel three years ago, but the surveys that took place at the time revealed that the vessels were instead Apollo and Maria, two medium-sized ships from 1648, according to the report.
Swedish researchers say that these discoveries will help them understand how the large warships evolved.
Source: Vrak Museum of Wrecks
