 | CopperShip.pdf |
| The Copper ship - pdf |
Wreck W-5 is the remains of a merchant vessel which probably sank shortly after leaving the port of Gdansk. She is called a Copper ship (Miedziowiec) because of the cargo which included a considerable quantity of crude copper in oval slabs. The wreck was found during the works on the Northern Port, lying at a depth of about 18 metres, on a sandy bottom. The site was excavated in 1971-1975 and more than 3,000 objects were found: apart of the copper slabs, iron ore and bundles of iron bars fastened with brass bands, forestry products like oak planks, staves for the production of barrels, barrels of pitch, birch tar, wood ash, resin and wax. The cargo was covered with a hard, fossil-like substance which was a mixture of tar and iron ore with the sand. This layer protected all objects inside, but, on the other hand, caused difficulties in underwater work. The wreck was dated to the 1st half of the 15th century.