On the sunken ship, 30 barrels of rare goods from the 16th century were found. Photo

The cargo that sank off the coast of Sweden in 2017 contained at least 30 barrels. Most of them are likely to contain Osmond iron - fist-sized iron lumps weighing about 300 grams.

Marine archaeologists conducted a dive in the Stockholm archipelago 7 years ago. It was then that they recorded a shipwreck from the 16th century loaded with Osmond iron. The Shipwreck Museum has published the results of the observations.

The Osmond iron and bar iron on the ship, dubbed the Osmond Wreck, were salvaged during a research project on iron production. This product was Sweden's main export commodity in the Middle Ages and until the early 16th century. After that, wrought iron bars became more common because they were more profitable and easier to control.

Although this discovery is unique to Sweden, there are several similar ones in the Baltic Sea. One of them is a shipwreck near Greifswald in Germany, dating from the mid-15th century. Another find is near Gdansk in Poland and dates from the early 15th century.

Dendrochronological samples from two wooden barrels and from the ship's more massive structures yielded results dating back to the 40s of the 16th century. Analysis of the wood from the planking and interior decoration showed that the wood was cut down somewhere in Finland around 1553. This probably indicates repairs made to the ship.

What is osmond?

Osmond is a form of iron made by melting pig iron in a crucible. Written sources indicate that osmond iron was a significant export product from Sweden from the Middle Ages to the 17th century.

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