Divers discover 100 bottles of champagne in 19th century shipwreck

A team of divers has discovered a 19th-century shipwreck off the coast of Sweden that was “loaded up to the sides” with historical artefacts – including 100 bottles of champagne.

The shipwreck was discovered in the Baltic Sea, about 20 nautical miles off the Swedish coast, by a team of Polish technical divers from the Baltictech group.

“We encountered a 19th century sailing ship in very good condition, loaded to the brim with champagne, wine, mineral water and porcelain,” diver Tomasz Stachura of Baltic Tech said in a statement. press release this week.

Stachura said it was difficult for divers to determine exactly how many bottles of sparkling water were on board, but he confirmed that they “definitely” saw more than 100 bottles.

Interestingly, what caught the divers’ attention was not alcohol, but mineral water bottled in clay, which Stachura said was “treated almost like medicine and only reached royal tables in the 19th century.”

“Its value was so high that the police were accompanying its transportation,” Stachura added.

Historians have determined that the stamp on the mineral water, which belongs to the German brand “Selters”, was produced between 1850 and 1867, according to Stachura, who has been in contact with the brand that is still in operation today.

“The pottery factory where the water was bottled is also there, and we are in contact with them to find out more details,” Stachura added.

When the team first spotted the wreckage via sonar on July 11, they thought it was a fishing boat, Stachura said.

“We were already one dive down that day, and at first there were doubts whether anyone would be willing to go down,” Stachura said, before adding that fellow divers Marek Cakaj and Pawel Truszynski had decided to take the historic step now.

At the moment, the shipwreck is still in the Baltic Sea outside economic waters, according to Stachura, who is collaborating on the wreck with the Mari Stella Maris Foundation, Södertörn University, and Professor Johan Ronneby, who is responsible for all underwater research in Sweden.