A 15th-century Viking shipwreck off the coast of Sweden may be the oldest Scandinavian shipwreck built in the innovative " carvel " style — a design that gave it the strength to carry heavy cannons, archaeologists say.
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The shipwreck in Landfjärden, south of Stockholm, is one of five in the area known since 1800.It is commonly believed to have come from ships dating back to the Viking Age (793-1066 AD).
But last year, maritime archaeologists at Vrak, the shipwreck museum in Stockholm, revealed that four of the wrecks date to the 1600s and 1700s and that the oldest shipwreck was built before 1480 and perhaps as early as the 1460s, the museum's curator and project director, Håkan Altrock, in a statement.
The most important aspect of the Viking shipwreck, now known as “Vrak 5,” is that it was built in a “carvel” style, with planks that were flush with neighboring planks, so that the entire surface of the hull was relatively smooth, Altrock said.
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Conversely, the traditional Scandinavian ships, such as the Vikings' longships, were built in the «clinker» style with overlapping planks, a feature that made them light and relatively flexible.
However, the use of carvel-type planked boards – an innovation from the Mediterranean dating back to around the seventh century AD – meant that a ship's hull could be reinforced with a frame to become stronger. This was a significant factor when ships began to carry cannons in the 15th century, said Altrock, so the traditional ships “built from clinker” soon became obsolete.
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These details make Vrak 5 key to understanding the transition from clinker-built ships to ships built using the carvel technique – an important period in Sweden, Altrock said. This ship represents a fascinating link between medieval and modern shipbuilding.
Source: livescience
