Divers Discover 19th-Century Shipwreck Off Swedish Coast, Complete with Champagne and Mineral Water Treasures

A Polish diving group, Baltictech, made a remarkable discovery south of Sweden: a 19th-century sailing ship, well-preserved and stocked with alcoholic treasures.

"One of the wrecks on the sonar was barely scratching and looked like a fishing boat," said Tomasz Stachura, Baltictech team leader.

Despite initial hesitation, divers Marek Cacaj and Pawel Truszynski decided to take a quick dive. Their prolonged absence of nearly two hours indicated the discovery of something significant.

"We certainly saw more than 100 bottles of Champagne and baskets of mineral water in clay bottles... We realized that this was a kind of treasure," Stachura told the New York Times.

The ship was found to be in excellent condition, with its sides loaded with Champagne, wine, mineral water, and porcelain. What's more, bubbles were seen rising from the Champagne bottles, leading to hopes that they might even be drinkable.

The divers later learned that the ship's cargo might have been intended for Tsar Alexander II of Russia, and the Champagne could be from the renowned Louis Roederer label, which produced a special, sweeter variety for the imperial court.

Baltictech Instagram post

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Mineral Water Discovery

The roughly 100 sealed bottles of mineral water also captivated the divers. Stachura explained that mineral water during those times was treated almost like medicine and was only found on royal tables.

"Its value was so precious that transports were escorted by the police... Thanks to the shape of the stamp and with historians' help, we know that our shipment was produced between 1850-1867... the pottery factory into which the water was bottled also exists, and we are in contact with them to find out more details," he added.

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Future Explorations

Baltictech is already planning future explorations of the shipwreck in collaboration with Södertörn University in Sweden and Professor Johan Rönnby, a maritime archaeologist and head of the Maritime Archaeology Research Institute (MARIS).

With guidelines in place, the team looks forward to exploring the wreck further and potentially uncovering more treasures and insights into the past.