JAKARTA – Marine archaeologists have discovered the wreck of the Danish warship Dannebroge at the bottom of Copenhagen Harbor, more than 200 years after the ship was sunk by the British fleet led by Admiral Horatio Nelson in the 1801 Battle of Copenhagen.
As reported by The Guardian, quoted Sunday, April 5, the findings were announced by the Danish Viking Ship Museum on Thursday, coinciding with the 225th anniversary of the battle, which is one of the most important parts of Danish history.
Currently, divers are racing against time to uncover the remains of the ship. The location of the wreck is in an area that will later be affected by the Lynetteholm project, the construction of a new residential area in the middle of Copenhagen Harbor, which is targeted to be completed by 2070.
The excavation was carried out in difficult conditions. The divers worked at a depth of about 15 meters, in the middle of thick sediment and almost zero visibility.
The head of maritime archaeology at the Danish Viking Ship Museum, Morten Johansen, said the find was important because it could give a clearer picture of what was happening on board when the battle took place.
In the Battle of Copenhagen, the British fleet attacked and defeated the Danish navy which formed a defensive blockade outside the port. Thousands of people were killed and injured in the hours-long naval clash. The attack was aimed at forcing Denmark out of an alliance of northern European countries that also included Russia, Prussia, and Sweden.
In the midst of the battle, Dannebroge, commanded by Commodore Olfert Fischer, became Nelson’s main target. The 48-meter-long ship was hit by cannon fire on the upper deck, then caught fire after being hit by a burning bullet.
Nelson then offered a truce. After that, an agreement to stop the fighting was reached with the Crown Prince of Denmark, Frederik. The heavily damaged Dannebroge drifted north before finally exploding.
From the excavation site, archaeologists found two cannons, uniforms, badges, shoes, bottles, and the lower jaw of a sailor. The latter was allegedly owned by one of the 19 crew members whose fate is still unknown.
According to experts, the size of the wooden parts found matches the old picture of the ship. Dendrochronology, a method of determining the age of wood through tree rings, also associates the wreck with the year of construction of the ship.
The excavation site is also filled with cannon balls, which pose a risk for divers when working in murky waters.
For Denmark, this finding is not just an underwater archaeological discovery. The Dannebroge wreck opens up old pages from a battle that has long lived in history books and paintings.
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