Latest news with #Dutch-produced
New York Post
02-05-2025
- Science
- New York Post
Haunting slave ships found off coast of national park 300 years later: ‘Very convincing'
Archaeologists recently made a startling discovery: They found that two 18th-century shipwrecks off the coast of Central America were actually two Danish slave ships. The ships, named Fridericus Quartus and Christianus Quintus, are located in shallow waters off Costa Rica's Cahuita National Park. Advertisement The 18th-century vessels were shipwrecked in 1710, according to the National Museum of Denmark. 'Fridericus Quartus was set ablaze, while Christianus Quintus had its anchor rope cut, following which the ship was wrecked in the surf,' the museum's press release noted. 'Until now, it has not been clear exactly where the ships were lost.' Pictures show divers carefully examining the shipwreck, which shows signs of significant decay from the past 315 years. Advertisement Though the ships were excavated in 2023, researchers didn't know that they were slave ships until recently. The vessels were long believed to be pirate ships. The excavation involved, in part, taking samples from the wood of the ships, as well as yellow bricks that were part of the ship's cargo. Researchers also conducted dendrochronological analyses — tree-ring dating — to determine where the wood came from. Advertisement They found it came from Northern Europe. The ships, named Fridericus Quartus and Christianus Quintus, were located in the shallow waters off Costa Rica's Cahuita National Park. Jakob Olling / National Museum of Denmark 'The timbers originate in the western part of the Baltic Sea, an area that encompasses the northeastern German province of Mecklenburg, as well as Schleswig-Holstein, Denmark and Scania — and that the tree was cut down sometime during the years 1690-1695,' the release said. 'The wood is, moreover, charred and sooty, which confirms what historical sources say about one of the ships being set ablaze.' Advertisement Divers also found clay pipes, which the museum describes as 'ordinary, Dutch-produced pipes that were also used onboard Danish ships.' 'The size, shape and patterns of the pipes suggest that they were produced in the period right before the ships became wrecked in 1710,' the press release added. 'Clay pipes were rarely used for more than five years.' The National Museum of Denmark indicates the vessels were shipwrecked in 1710. Wisconsin Historical Society Pictures also show the remarkable yellow bricks that survived the shipwreck, which were produced in Flensburg 'for use in Denmark and in the Danish colonies in the 18th and 19th centuries.' 'In other European countries, other kinds of bricks and stones were in fashion when new buildings were erected,' the museum said. 'The clay comes from Denmark — quite specifically, from either Iller Strand or Egernsund,' the statement added. 'Both locations are situated by Flensburg Fjord, which was, in the 18th century, home to a sizeable brick-producing industry.' Advertisement After samples from the excavation were analyzed at the National Museum of Denmark and the University of Southern Denmark, researchers concluded the findings corroborate what historical sources say about the history of the ships. David Gregory, a marine archaeologist at the National Museum of Denmark, said that the results fit 'perfectly' with historical accounts about one of the ships burning. 'The analyses are very convincing and we no longer have any doubts that these are the wrecks of the two Danish slave ships,' Gregory said. Advertisement 'The bricks are Danish and the same goes for the timbers, which are additionally charred and sooty from a fire. This fits perfectly with the historical accounts stating that one of the ships burnt.' National Museum of Denmark marine archaeologist Andreas Kallmeyer Bloch said he'd 'come close to giving up' during the long research process – but is stunned by the results. 'This is undoubtedly the craziest archaeological excavation I've yet been part of,' Bach said. Advertisement 'Not only because it matters greatly to the local population, but also because it's one of the most dramatic shipwrecks in the history of Denmark, and now we know exactly where it happened.' 'This provides two pieces that have been missing from the history of Denmark.' Fox News Digital reached out to the National Museum of Denmark for additional information.
Fox News
01-05-2025
- Science
- Fox News
Haunting slave ships found off coast of national park 300 years later: 'Very convincing'
Archaeologists recently made a startling discovery: They found that two 18th-century shipwrecks off the coast of Central America were actually two Danish slave ships. The ships, named Fridericus Quartus and Christianus Quintus, are located in shallow waters off Costa Rica's Cahuita National Park. The 18th-century vessels were shipwrecked in 1710, according to the National Museum of Denmark. "Fridericus Quartus was set ablaze, while Christianus Quintus had its anchor rope cut, following which the ship was wrecked in the surf," the museum's press release noted. "Until now, it has not been clear exactly where the ships were lost." Pictures show divers carefully examining the shipwreck, which shows signs of significant decay from the past 315 years. Though the ships were excavated in 2023, researchers didn't know that they were slave ships until recently. The vessels were long believed to be pirate ships. The excavation involved, in part, taking samples from the wood of the ships, as well as yellow bricks that were part of the ship's cargo. Researchers also conducted dendrochronological analyses — tree-ring dating — to determine where the wood came from. They found it came from Northern Europe. "The timbers originate in the western part of the Baltic Sea, an area that encompasses the northeastern German province of Mecklenburg, as well as Schleswig-Holstein, Denmark and Scania – and that the tree was cut down sometime during the years 1690-1695," the release said. "The wood is, moreover, charred and sooty, which confirms what historical sources say about one of the ships being set ablaze." Divers also found clay pipes, which the museum describes as "ordinary, Dutch-produced pipes that were also used onboard Danish ships." "This provides two pieces that have been missing." "The size, shape and patterns of the pipes suggest that they were produced in the period right before the ships became wrecked in 1710," the press release added. "Clay pipes were rarely used for more than five years." Pictures also show the remarkable yellow bricks that survived the shipwreck, which were produced in Flensburg "for use in Denmark and in the Danish colonies in the 18th and 19th centuries." "In other European countries, other kinds of bricks and stones were in fashion when new buildings were erected," the museum said. "The clay comes from Denmark – quite specifically, from either Iller Strand or Egernsund," the statement added. "Both locations are situated by Flensburg Fjord, which was, in the 18th century, home to a sizeable brick-producing industry." After samples from the excavation were analyzed at the National Museum of Denmark and the University of Southern Denmark, researchers concluded the findings corroborate what historical sources say about the history of the ships. David Gregory, a marine archaeologist at the National Museum of Denmark, said that the results fit "perfectly" with historical accounts about one of the ships burning. "The analyses are very convincing and we no longer have any doubts that these are the wrecks of the two Danish slave ships," Gregory said. "The bricks are Danish and the same goes for the timbers, which are additionally charred and sooty from a fire. This fits perfectly with the historical accounts stating that one of the ships burnt." "We no longer have any doubts that these are the wrecks of the two Danish slave ships." National Museum of Denmark marine archaeologist Andreas Kallmeyer Bloch said he'd "come close to giving up" during the long research process – but is stunned by the results. "This is undoubtedly the craziest archaeological excavation I've yet been part of," Bach said. "Not only because it matters greatly to the local population, but also because it's one of the most dramatic shipwrecks in the history of Denmark, and now we know exactly where it happened." "This provides two pieces that have been missing from the history of Denmark." Fox News Digital reached out to the National Museum of Denmark for additional information.
Miami Herald
29-04-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
Ships carrying enslaved people wrecked amid revolts in 1700s. Now they're found
Centuries after Danish ships carrying enslaved people from West Africa disappeared in the Caribbean, the charred and destroyed remains have been identified for the first time. In 2023, researchers and archaeologists from the National Museum of Denmark and the Viking Ship Museum put on their dive gear and visited two known shipwreck sites off Cahuita National Park in Costa Rica, according to an April 27 news release from the National Museum published in Ritzaus Bureau. 'For many years, however, they were thought to be pirate ships,' researchers said. 'But when American marine archaeologists in 2015 found yellow bricks in one of the wrecks, new questions emerged about the history of the ships.' Hoping to find answers, the archaeologists brought samples of the bricks and wood to the surface to determine where it originated, according to the release. The researchers used dendrochronology, or the study of tree rings, to determine the wood for one wreck came from the western region of the Baltic Sea, which included a region of Germany and Denmark, according to the release. Dating of the wood showed it was cut down between 1690 and 1695, researchers said, and it was 'charred and sooty.' When they analyzed the bricks, they found the brick matched Flensburg bricks produced in Denmark and the Danish colonies, and the clay used to make them was collected in Denmark, researchers said. The bricks were dated to the 18th century. Among the wreckage, the divers also found Dutch-produced pipes with sizes and patterns suggesting they were made at the beginning of the 18th century, according to the release. At this point, there was no doubt where the ships originated: Denmark. But, how did they make their way to the Costa Rican coast? And how had their journeys come to such violent ends? 'According to historical sources, the two Danish slave ships Fridericus Quartus and Christianus Quintus were shipwrecked off the coast of Central America in 1710,' researchers said. 'Fridericus Quartus was set ablaze, while Christianus Quintus had its anchor rope cut, following which the ship was wrecked in the surf. Until now, it has not been clear exactly where the ships were lost.' The ships are considered part of darkest chapters of Danish history, according to an April 28 Facebook post from the Viking Ship Museum. The two ships were blown hundreds of miles off course as they traveled across the Atlantic from West Africa as part of the trade of enslaved people, according to the museum. In the spring of 1710, the ships finally saw land, but the environment on board was dangerously tense, the museum said. The crew and 600-700 enslaved people had resorted to eating only turtles caught off the ship by the end of the journey, and after the surviving West Africans were dropped on shore, there was a mutiny, according to the museum. The anchors of one ship were cut, allowing it to crash into the coral reef and sink, and the second ship was set ablaze, eventually also reaching the seafloor. Some members of the crew had boarded English vessels, eventually making their way back to Denmark and writing about their previous voyage, but none of the sailors wrote where the ships met their end, the museum said. A video about the expedition was shared by the National Museum of Denmark on April 28. Cahuita National Park is on the southeastern coast of Costa Rica along the Caribbean Sea. Facebook Translate was used to translate the post from the Viking Ship Museum.
