350 year old Ghost Ship sculpture salvaged

Submitted on Tue, 2010-05-11 14:19
The sculpture looks like a 17th century tradesman from the Netherlands.
A 350 year old wooden sculpture was salvaged today in connection with a scientific expedition to the so-called Ghost Ship lying in the middle of the Baltic Sea at a depth of 130 metres.

The sculpture depicts a gentleman dressed in typical Dutch 17th century fashion, adding evidence to the fact that the ship is a tradesman of Dutch origin. The sculpture was salvaged by the expedition ship IceBeam using under water robots and a specially designed claw. Divers secured the critical passage through the surface on to the expedition ship. The sculpture was packaged by specialists from the Netherlands and brought to the Vasa Museum in Stockholm for temporary storage. The plan is for the sculpture to be transported and conserved in the Netherlands. The expedition to the ship is lead by professor Johan Rönnby of the MARIS institute at Södertörn University. Deep Sea Productions is making a film about the expedition and the Ghost Wreck for National Geographic Television and Swedish Television (SVT).