An unusual underwater discovery has been revealed in Germany’s Lake Constance, where archaeologists are investigating the well-preserved remains of a medieval shipwreck.
The discovery, which dates back to the 15th century, offers a rare look at the shipbuilding and navigation technologies once used to traverse one of the most historically important inland waterways in Europe.
Discovered near the city of Lindau, the find was made after a local recreational diver spotted what appeared to be wooden remains on the base of the lake, according to underwater archaeologist Prof. Tobias Pflederer, honorary president of the Bavarian Society for Underwater Archaeology.
The diver alerted archaeologists from the BGfU about the unusual wooden structure, who were able to confirm that the timbers belonged to the remains of a previously unknown vessel, Euro News reported.
“What was particularly exciting was that we were really able to identify the wooden remains as a wreck,” Pflederer said in a German-language statement. “But after several frames and fragments of the hull were protruding from the lakebed, the interpretation quickly became clear.”
A 15th Century Find Resurfaces
Based on the condition of the wooden ship’s remains, it is estimated that the vessel once measured between eight and twelve meters in length, with a beam of approximately three meters.
Analysis of wood samples from the wreck was undertaken with help from the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation, which revealed likely dates as old as 1420 AD. This makes the discovery one of just a handful of late medieval shipwrecks archaeologists have discovered in Lake Constance.
“So far we have carried out only two dives and have done just an initial survey,” Pflederer said, adding that researchers had documented the site using underwater orthophotography before collecting a small timber sample, which they used for radiocarbon dating.
What Sinks Remains Sunken
While the discovery is significant in terms of medieval sailing vessels, Pflederer and his colleagues say there are currently no plans to recover the vessel, since raising the wreck would require extensive conservation efforts that would be both technically challenging and also quite costly.
Given its current condition, the best means of preserving the wreck, for now, will be to leave it beneath the lakebed, where it is offered some degree of natural protection from sediment that has accumulated over it.
Future investigations of the centuries-old timbers that remain within Lake Constance may offer additional insights into how the vessel was constructed, and allow researchers to determine its precise dimensions, potentially adding new insights into medieval commerce and navigation on Lake Constance.
Quotes appearing in this article are translations of original German-language statements by Prof. Tobias Pflederer.
Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.