A huge treasure has been found under the sea in Sweden. Divers from the Baltic Sea have discovered the wreckage of a ship that sank in the 19th century and the things found on it are surprising. Explorers have found champagne, wine, mineral water and porcelain items on the ship.
Explorers reported that there were more than 100 bottles of champagne on the ship. Diver Tomasz Stachura of the Polish diving group Baltitech, who found the ship, believes that the shipment may have been headed for the Russian Czar.
The Baltitec group specializes in finding shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea. The group has described its latest discovery as a “treasure”.
Team leader Stachura said, “I have been diving for 40 years. You may find one or two such bottles in the wreckage during a search, but I have never seen such a large number of wine and water bottles together.”
The ship has been found in the sea 37 kilometers away from Sweden’s Oland Island. Stachura said that two of his divers went into the water for a short dive but did not come out for two hours, after which they felt that there was something interesting below.
He said, ‘We already knew that there was something interesting down there.’ The bottles found in the wreckage had the brand name of the German company Selters. From the bottles, the explorers came to know that the ship might have sunk between 1850-1867.
Mineral water used to be under police protection
It is surprising to find more than 100 bottles of champagne on a ship that sank in the 19th century and even more surprising is the discovery of a box of mineral water on the ship. Stachura said that mineral water was very special in those times and was kept like a medicine. It was used by the kings of that era.
Stachura says, ‘Mineral water was so precious that the police provided security to the vehicles while bringing it.’
The ship was carrying the luggage of Russian King Nicholas I
Speaking to the BBC, Stachura said that he believes the ship may have been headed for Russian Czar Nicholas I. A ship belonging to the Russian king reportedly sank in this area in 1852. He says, “And that is why the ship was laden with so many valuable goods. Usually when we find wrecks, they are laden with cheap goods.”
Stachura says that the champagne and mineral water found on the ship can still be drunk today. Russians at that time liked more sugar in champagne and brandy was also added to champagne at that time. This is why the champagne of the 19th century is still drinkable today. At the same time, the wreck was 58 meters below in cold and darkness, due to which the champagne has not spoiled even after a long time.