Well-Preserved, Rare 13th-Century Ship Discovered 5 Feet Beneath the Streets of Tallinn During Construction Work

A 700-year-old ship was discovered five feet beneath the street of Tallinn during construction work in the Estonian capital, MailOnline reported. Archaeologists said that the vessel could be a 13th-century Hanseatic cog, a workhorse of the ancient trading network Hanseatic League that stretches from England to Russia.

The discovery is considered rare given that the most famous example is the Breman Vog found in Germany in 1962. But archaeologists claim that the Hanseatic Cog is in even better condition than its renowned cousin.

Lost 700-Year-Old Ship Finally Found

Construction workers in Tallinn had to stop building offices in the street when they stumbled upon the rare 80ft-long vessel. According to Metro, the whole area used to be undersea and the ship recently discovered sank close to the Harjapea river mouth.

The ship is now one of the few rediscovered vessels belonging to the confederation of a powerful merchant alliance that spans several European nations. It is also estimated to be 82 years older than the Bremen Cog and in even better condition. Dated to 1298, this ancient ship was built with 24-meter long massive oak logs and sealed with tar and animal hair.

Archaeologists also found fragments of medieval leather shoes, tools, and wool material used for packing. They hope to find more as excavation in the area continues. In 2008, a historic wreck was also found, so construction workers were warned beforehand that they might find another one.

Mihkel Tammel, an archaeologist called to supervise the project, said that the area was almost two meters beneath the water. The ship was found on one of the ancient underwater sand ridges that were hard to map because they changed shape and location due to ice drifts and storms.

Tallinn city government archaeologist Ragnar Nurk revealed that the ship could not be moved in one piece because of its massive size and restricted condition of construction. However, there are two main options for the ship - one is to go to the maritime museum or to the wreck preservation area in Tallinn Bay near Naissaar Island.

ALSO READ: 17th Century Dutch Cargo Vessel Found in the Baltic Sea

(Photo : JEFF PACHOUD/AFP via Getty Images)
A man works to restore a barge dating from the Gallo-Roman era at the Grenoble CEA (Centre pour l'Energie Atomique) in Grenoble on September 27, 2016. Since the 1970s, the Grenoble ARC-Nucleart lab has worked to preserved ancient shipwrecks long buried and threatened by their sudden exposure to air once discovered.

Hanseatic Cog Designed for Economical, and Low-Tide Purposes

Hundreds of years ago, merchants often gather in groups known as Hanse for trading across the North Sea and Baltic Sea, according to the Cultural Route of the Council of Europe. They would go to sea with their valuable freight in convoys using their ships that they call the cog.

The ship was a bulky freighter with one mast and square sail. At the time, it was considered a modern type ship with a helm at the stern and a flat floor to allow it to sail in low water.

It is different from the Nordic longboats, which were more economical because a cog could transport a large amount of cargo of up to 90 tons and a small crew, which is why it was so successful. Most importantly, the cog was produced relatively quickly and inexpensively at that time.

There were also three sizes of the cog, which range between 15 meters and 25 meters in length and 5 to 8 meters wide with a molded depth of about 3 to 5 meters. They call the measurement of the capacity of a cog "last," which is equivalent to 2 tons, like the capacity of a carriage drawn by a horse.

A small cog with 50 last could transport the same load as an endless envoy of 50 wagons pulled by 200 horses. More so, there are cogs that are twice the aforementioned size and can carry twice the capacity. However, a cog could also fall to the ground when traveling at low tide due to the lack of keel, which was also restricted back then.

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