Archaeology Magazine - September 1961 - 66

The seventeenth-century
warship Vasa after having been recoveredfrom the bottom
of Stockholmharbor.PhotoAmericanSwedishNewsExchange.
tunneling was done with a powerful
water jet combined with a mud-suction pump. It is consideredone of the
most complicated and dangerous underwater jobs ever carried out at such
a great depth.
On August 20, 1959, the hull was
raised from its bed. Still submerged
and resting in a "hammock" of heavy
wire, it was then slowly towed to shallower water. On September 16 it arrived at the place in the inner harbor
where it was to remain until emptied
of its equipment. The final lifting of
the Vasa began in April of this year.
The hull has now appeared above the
surface for the first time in more than
three hundred years. It will be placed
in a gigantic caisson and towed into
drydock.
For the next six or seven years the
Vasa will rest in her caisson some

seventy feet from the shore, where a
floating boathouse will be erected. At
first, the water-soaked oaken hull will
require a high degree of air humidity,
and the boathouse must therefore be
airtight and air-conditioned. Fróm a
gallery visitors will be able to follow
the work of the experts.
This remarkable accomplishment is
due to the energy and imagination of
her rediscoverer, to the skill of the
divers and the modern salvaging techniques used by the SwedishNavy, and
to a most unusual or even unique
combination of favorable geographical
and historical circumstances. If there
was to be any chance of salvaging the
Vasa the ship could hardly have sunk
at a better place. The water in Stockholm harbor contains very little salt,
and there are no tides or strong currents. The hull, which had becomeimbedded in a layer of mud, has therefore remained in good condition. Its
iron nails have long been useless, but
there are also some twenty thousand
wooden pegs still serving their purpose. The fact that most of the cannon were recovered at an early stage
is also of great importance. If they
had not been removed, the Vasa
would never again have been able to
float on her own keel.
The archaeological importance of
the Vasa is very great. Finds are to a
large extent restricted to objects of
A specialistworking on conservationof stone or metal, while organic material
woodensculpturefrom the Vasa. Photo is frequently destined to decay, and
AmericanSwedishNews Exchange.
archaeologistsworking in Scandinavia
218

are particularly unfavored in this respect. Any really large finds such as
the well preserved Viking ships, which
have added immensely to our knowledge of that period, are of enormous
value.
When the Vasa is carefully examined, there should be found the personal equipment of the officers and
men, cutlery and kitchen utensils, provisions, tools and instruments, in all
an excellent cross-sectionof daily life
in the seventeenth century. In the ship
are also the skeletons of those who
died in the catastrophe.
The work on the ship and her contents is in charge of Per Lundström,
of the Swedish Museum of National
Antiquities. The objects will first be
systematicallyremoved from the mud
and their positions recorded. Records,
plans and photographs will provide
the foundation for later analysis.
As soon as this registration is complete, the finds will be handed over to
the conservation department. Until
they have been treated, the finds will
be kept in water, as the drying out of
material can cause irreparable harm.
There will be a number of problems
to overcome. The work will have to
be done in cramped spaces and with
the utmost care, as the strength of the
ship is still an unknown factor. As the
ship overturned when it sank, the
stores and provisions will certainly
have been dislodged,and it will be difficult to figure out how they were originally stowed. The moving of heavy
objects around the ship is also likely
to give trouble. Taking these out
through the hatches and gun ports
will be difficult since they will be abnormally heavy, owing to their soaked
condition.
The archaeologists have a difficult
task ahead, but one of the most fascinating and exciting that a historian
could dream of.
Mycenaean Issue Offered
Those of our readers who missed
the very popular special Mycenaean
issue (Spring I960, Volume 13,No. 1),
or who wish to obtain extra copies for
students or friends, may be interested
to know that a limited number of
copies is still available. These may be
purchased at the regular price of $1.25
by writing to Archaeology, 5 Washington Square North, New York 3,
New York.

Archaeology Magazine - September 1961

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - September 1961