Short summary of previous investigations…

The loss of many ships and their ordnance was naturally a massive setback for their owners. In order to limit the disaster and be able to outfit new ships with ordnance “wreckers” (salvage workers) were immediately sent to Gotland to retrieve as many of the lost cannons as possible. The work was quite successful as more than 50 cannons (including 4 large bronze cannons) were recovered and returned to Copenhagen and Lübeck. The salvage work continued for almost 10 years after the disaster.

During the following 4 centuries one can imagine that the local people made occasional finds of items from the ship wrecks, but no organized efforts were made for salvage or investigations. The disaster has probably been somewhat forgotten and the only visible reminder of it was a painting in the Visby church.

During the 1960’s the interest in maritime archaeology was spurred by the recovery of the Vasa and the rapid development of scuba diving equipment. The history of the disaster of the Danish-Lübeckish fleet was revived and divers on Gotland started looking for the remains of the ships that were lost 400 years before. The first find were made south of Visby in shallow waters. The most prominent finds from this site consisted of a silver spoon with heraldic engravings and the initials of JUT and LB. Research revealed that Jens Truidson Ulfstand (JUT) had been the commander of the Danish vessel “Hannibal”. LB was his wife, Lisbeth Bille. The wreck site is therefore believed to be that of “Hannibal”. The construction of the present day waste water treatment plant and its sewer pipes obstructed further investigations of the wreck site.

In the beginning of the 1980’s a new wreck site was discovered. This wreck site was situated north of Visby, just outside Krusmyntagården at Brissund. The find area was scattered over a several hundred meters long stretch along the underwater ledge parallel to the shore. The first finding consisted of cannon balls and wrought iron cannon attached to its wooden bed. Permission was given from the authorities (Riksantikvarieämbetet) to investigate and excavate the wreck site. The investigations were conducted by a group of local divers headed by Rune Fordal and lasted a period of 6 years. Many cannon balls of different sizes and materials (lead, iron and stone) were found. A total of 233 German silver coins were recovered along with the elaborately decorated boatswains call and a handle of a silver dagger. The investigations finally had to end due to lack of funding for conservation of the finds. The wreck site is believed to be either Morianen or Joshua (both Lübeckish).

The conserved finds from the excavation of the wreck site outside Brissund can be seen in Gotlands Museum in Visby from late autumn 2007, where previously not exhibited finds will be on display in a special exhibition.

Side scan surveys of some areas outside Visby were conducted in 2006. A previously known and a number of possible wreck sites were located and positioned. None of the possible wreck sites have been investigated by divers so far.

Thus only 2 out of the 15 ships that were wrecked in 1566 have been archaeologically investigated and documented so far. It is however not to say how many objects from the wrecks sites that has been lost to treasure hunters and illegal salvage during the last 4 centuries.

The presence of 15 contemporary wrecks sites offers a unique opportunity for fruitful archaeological research, as renewed investigations into the wreck sites of the Danish-Lübeckish fleet may yield much important information about both construction of and life on board 16th century navy vessels.