COPENHAGEN, Denmark — More than 200 years after being sunk by Adm. Horatio Nelson and the British fleet, a Danish warship has been discovered on the seabed of Copenhagen Harbor by marine archaeologists.<\/p>\n
Working in thick sediment and almost zero visibility 15 meters (49 feet) beneath the waves, divers are in a race against time to unearth the 19th-century wreck of the Dannebroge before it becomes a construction site in a new housing district being built off the Danish coast.<\/p>\n
Denmark\u2019s Viking Ship Museum, which is leading the monthslong underwater excavations, announced its findings on Thursday, 225 years to the day since the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a big part of the Danish national feeling,\u201d said Morten Johansen, the museum\u2019s head of maritime archaeology. <\/p>\n
A great deal has been written about the battle \u201cby very enthusiastic spectators, but we actually don\u2019t know how it was to be onboard a ship being shot to pieces by English warships and some of that story we can probably learn from seeing the wreck,\u201d Johansen said. The Associated Press was the only international outlet given access to the site.<\/p>\n
In the Battle of Copenhagen, Nelson and the British fleet attacked and defeated Denmark\u2019s navy as it formed a protective blockade outside the harbor.<\/p>\n
Thousands were killed and wounded during the brutal hourslong naval clash, considered one of Nelson\u2019s \u201cgreat battles.\u201d The intention was to force Denmark out of an alliance of Northern European powers, including Russia, Prussia and Sweden.<\/p>\n
At the center of the fighting was the Danish flagship, the Dannebroge, commanded by Commodore Olfert Fischer.<\/p>\n
The 48-meter (157-foot) Dannebroge was Nelson\u2019s main target. Cannon fire tore through its upper deck before incendiary shells sparked a fire aboard.<\/p>\n
\u201c(It was) a nightmare to be on board one of these ships,\u201d Johansen said. \u201cWhen a cannonball hits a ship, it\u2019s not the cannonball that does the most damage to the crew, it\u2019s wooden splinters flying everywhere, very much like grenade debris.\u201d<\/p>\n
The battle also is believed to have inspired the phrase \u201cto turn a blind eye.\u201d After deciding to ignore a superior\u2019s signal, Nelson, who had lost sight in his right eye, reportedly remarked: \u201cI have only one eye, I have a right to be blind sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nelson eventually offered a truce and a ceasefire was later agreed with Denmark\u2019s Crown Prince Frederik.<\/p>\n
The stricken Dannebroge slowly drifted northward and exploded. Records say the sound created a deafening roar across Copenhagen.<\/p>\n
Marine archaeologists have discovered two cannons, uniforms, insignia, shoes, bottles and even part of a sailor\u2019s lower jaw, perhaps one of the 19 unaccounted-for crew members who likely lost their lives that day.<\/p>\n
The dig site will soon be enveloped by construction work for Lynetteholm, a megaproject to build a new housing district in the middle of Copenhagen Harbor that is expected to be completed by 2070.<\/p>\n
Marine archaeologists began surveying the area late last year, targeting a spot thought to match the flagship\u2019s final position.<\/p>\n
Experts say the sizes of the wooden parts found match old drawings. Dendrochronological dating, the method of using tree rings to establish the age of wood, match the year the ship was built. They also say the darkened dig site is full of cannonballs, a hazard for divers navigating waters darkened by clouds of silt stirred up from the seabed.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes you can\u2019t see anything, and then you really have to just feel your way, look with your fingers instead of with your eyes,\u201d diver and maritime archaeologist Marie Jonsson said.<\/p>\n
Chronicled in books and painted on canvases, the 1801 battle is deeply embedded in Denmark\u2019s national story.<\/p>\n
Archaeologists hope their discoveries may help reexamine the event that shaped the Scandinavian country and perhaps uncover personal stories of those who went into battle on that day 225 years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are bottles, there are ceramics, and even pieces of basketry,\u201d Jonsson said. \u201cYou get closer to the people onboard.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"COPENHAGEN, Denmark — More than 200 years after being sunk by Adm. Horatio Nelson and the British fleet,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":54268,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[30059,478,27,26,1162,2501,26624,3069,1161],"class_list":["post-54267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-denmark","tag-30059","tag-article","tag-danmark","tag-denmark","tag-general-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-oddities","tag-war-and-unrest","tag-world-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@dk\/116336429984666871","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}