The wreck of the flagship provides important pieces to the puzzle of military revolution at sea. New insights into warship fighting platforms and a unique chest of weapons from the late Middle Ages. These are some new findings from studies of the Danish flagship Gribshunden/Griffin, which sank in the Blekinge archipelago in 1495.
Maritime archaeologists from Stockholm University and Södertörn University dived aboard the flagship Griffin (also known as Griffin-Hound or Gribshunden) of the Danish-Norwegian King Hans at Stora Ekön in the Blekinge archipelago. The flagship sank together with about a hundred German mercenaries after a fire on board during a voyage to Kalmar in 1495. Although the wreck is partly disintegrated, the timber on the seabed is very well preserved. There are also timbers believed to have belonged to the ship’s superstructure, including parts of the bow and stern castles, which served as elevated fighting platforms on the ship.
Underwater investigations of the wreck have been conducted by the University of Södertörn, starting in 2013. Recent field work, conducted in collaboration with the University of Södertörn, has focused on Rolf Warming’s thesis project underway at the Center of Maritime Studies (CEMAS) and Stockholm University. In his study “Soldiers at Sea” he investigates the armaments technology linked to the soldiers on board and the superstructure of warships in the period 1450-1650.
A report by Rolf Warming and Johan Rönnby, professor of maritime archeology at MARIS/Södertörn University, on the results of last year’s field work has now been published. The investigation provided new data for ongoing work to reconstruct and analyze the ship’s superstructure. The findings therefore complement current shipbuilding knowledge of the wreck and the overall ambition to rebuild the ship. Furthermore, the results provide a more detailed view of the soldiers’ armament and presence on board. New information was also gained on how the wreck site has been affected and changed over the years.
Here, above, are the remains of the ammunition production toolbox (Zeuglade in German) with contents. The solid line indicates the elongated side of the container; the dotted lines indicate the estimated placement of its sides. Contents: (1) lead plates, (2-3) molds, (4) the elongated side of the case along with iron corrosion (from the lock and fittings?), (5) cylindrical “jars” (possibly powder containers ) and (6) mold. Photo: Florian Huber, with sketches and notes by Rolf Warming).
Researchers also identified and documented two gun carriages and a unique weapons chest.
“The contents of the weapons chest are undoubtedly one of the most important finds. The crate has been known since fieldwork in 2019, but we have now carefully documented the contents in 3D. It contains, among other things, several molds and lead plates for the production of lead bullets for early guns. It is an ammunition box, probably belonging to the German mercenaries who were on board at the time of the sinking,” says Rolf Warming.
During previous investigations at the wreck site, fragments of chain mail were found. These fragments probably come from one or more chain mails. The analysis, carried out together with Professor Kerstin Lidén at the Archaeological Research Laboratory (Stockholm University), shows that the mail contained several different threads and was woven together using a variety of techniques. This indicates that it has been repaired on several occasions. Depending on the size of the rings stored, such chain mail (known as hauberks) could contain up to 150,000 rings.
