A Shipwreck From 700 Years Ago Was Discovered In Norway’s Biggest Lake

Since the 1940s, hundreds of tons of wartime ammunition have been deposited into Norway’s Lake Mjøsa. During a search for dumped ammunition, a shipwreck dating back up to 700 years ago was discovered.

Unfortunately, bad weather has prevented researchers from examining the wreck further. The wreck was found in 2022 by a military-operated autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) at a depth of about 1,300 feet.

Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in the city of Trondheim were intrigued by the discovery, but they were unable to visit the wreck until recently.

They used a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) attached by a long line to a research boat to explore the wreck for about an hour.

However, technical issues and oncoming bad weather prevented them from taking wood samples for radiocarbon dating. So, the exact age of the wreck will remain unclear until the researchers can return to the site next spring.

According to a maritime archaeologist from NTNU named Øyvind Ødegård, multiple features of the wreck suggest that the ship was built between 1300 and 1700. The research team calls the ship Storfjorden I.

Lake Mjøsa is the largest lake in Norway. It is located about 60 miles north of Oslo. It stretches across more than 140 square miles, but only a small area of the lake bottom has ever been mapped.

The lake served as an important trade route for the communities that lived along its shores from at least the 8th century. The researchers believe that the vessel was a “føringsbåt” that was used to carry passengers and cargo.

These types of boats were commonly used on Norwegian lakes, but their flat bottoms did not make them fit for traveling across the sea.

The latest explorations have revealed that this føringsbåt was constructed with an upright stern, a characteristic that was introduced in Norway after 1300. Earlier Viking ships looked identical on both ends.

There are also signs that it had a central rudder at the stern for steering. In comparison, Viking ships contained a specialized steering oar on one side.

Additionally, the boat was built with wooden planks arranged in a “clinker” pattern, which was a traditional Scandinavian boatbuilding technique eventually replaced by the “carvel” style, a Mediterranean innovation.

The wreck in Lake Mjøsa is 33 feet long and covered with sediments. The visible wooden planks in the hull are fairly wide, indicating that they were cut with an ax instead of being sawed at a shipyard. This means the wreck was older.

Currently, the wreck is sitting at the bottom of Lake Mjøsa in deep waters. In that area, the surface of the lake has strong currents. So, it is likely that the ship had an accident while trying to cross that treacherous spot.