Poles reel in 18th century cannons from mysterious wreck

The find, some thirty nautical miles out to sea from the north western town of Ustka, Pomerania, takes in some forty guns, and is being investigated in cooperation with the Polish Maritime Museum in Gdansk.

“This is the first time since beginning work at the museum that I have encountered the situation that we have a huge find, but no ship,” said Iwona Pomian, head of the department of underwater research.

Speaking on Monday, she explained that the debris beneath the cannons was, “too small to be called a wreck.”

Pomian suggests that the wreckage may have been destroyed by fishermen's nets, over the years.

“We have a lot of wrecks destroyed in this manner,” she says, “ but even then some pieces lie nearby, something sticks out, but here, nothing.”

Experts were first tipped off about a potential hoard a year ago, when a vessel from the Gdansk Maritime Institute was testing the seabed owing to plans by a Polish firm to create offshore wind farms.

Of the twelve guns that have been brought to shore, eight have already been placed in an underwater exhibit by the Gdansk museum. The remaining four are undergoing extensive conservation.

Iwona Powian reveals that the artillery was made in Swedish workshops in 1772.

Some 700 metres away, another ship's cargo has been discovered, with a considerable trove of 19th century faience crockery. In this instance the wreckage is more substantial, and Pomian says that the high-end kitchenware is in good condition. (nh)

Source: PAP