Danish archaeologists recently discovered the remains of the Dannebroge, a blockship destroyed during the Battle of Copenhagen on April 2, 1801. As reported by Fox News, the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde announced the find this month during the 225th anniversary of the historic naval conflict.
The wreckage was located during surveys for the Lynetteholm construction project. This vessel served Danish-Norwegian forces before it was struck by British fire, caught flame, and exploded during the Napoleonic Wars. The battle resulted in approximately 700 deaths, including 56 men aboard the Dannebroge.
Excavations revealed various artifacts including worn shoes, personal belongings, and weapons. Maritime archaeologist Otto Uldum confirmed the ship’s identity through timber dimensions and tree-ring dating, which matched the vessel’s 1772 construction date.
“The dimensions of the timbers correspond exactly to the drawings of the ship that survive, and the dendrochronological dating matches the vessel’s year of construction in 1772,” said Otto Uldum, maritime archaeologist at the Danish Viking Ship Museum.
The research team also discovered human remains at the site, including a lower jaw bone and ribs. These remains likely belonged to some of the 19 sailors listed as missing after the 1801 explosion.
“So we are stating this with a degree of certainty that borders on absolute. … We have found Dannebroge and the remains of those who never made it ashore after the battle,” said Uldum.
Archaeologists anticipated finding human remains due to the violent nature of the ship’s sinking. Uldum noted the seabed surrounding the site was littered with various types of shot and two cannons.
“Even before the excavation began, the archaeologists knew that they might encounter human remains in the wreck,” said Uldum.
In addition to heavy artillery, the team recovered smaller items that provided a glimpse into the daily lives of the 18th-century sailors stationed on the blockship.
“We have found a number of personal belongings,” he said. “Shoes and fragments of clothing, and various small items the sailors would have carried with them — clay pipes, uniform insignia and weapons.”
Uldum further confirmed the presence of biological remains among the debris. The discovery marks a rare archaeological look into a battle that shaped Danish national identity.
“several other bones, including ribs, which could very well be human,” said Uldum.
Despite the battle’s historical importance, it had remained unexamined by maritime archaeologists until the current project. Uldum described this lack of previous investigation as remarkable.
“Although the battle is a central event in Danish history, no one, to my knowledge, has examined it archaeologically until now,” said Uldum. “That is actually quite remarkable.”
Morten Johansen, the head of maritime archaeology at the museum, explained that Danish law generally protects shipwrecks from being disturbed unless they face immediate threats from development.
“it is illegal to ‘disturb, touch or remove material from these wrecks without permission,'” said Morten Johansen, head of maritime archaeology at the Viking Ship Museum.
The excavation is currently limited to the specific area impacted by the planned construction project. Johansen emphasized that the work is a legal requirement for cultural heritage protection.
“The current archaeological work is taking place solely because the wreck lies within an area affected by planned construction,” said Johansen.
Johansen clarified that previous inactivity was due to strict preservation policies rather than a lack of historical interest in the site.
“In other words, it is not a lack of interest or awareness that explains why this is the first archaeological excavation of a shipwreck from the Battle of Copenhagen,” said Johansen.