[MR] History Blog: 16th C. Shipwreck with Iron Cargo

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

A few days back, the History Blog posted a very interesting story about a
Swedish shipwreck with a cargo of iron lumps.

The wreck was found in deep water off Sweden's Baltic coast in 2017. It is
a clinker-built freighter, which from dendritic analysis dates to the
mid-16th century. It is thought to have sunk between 1550 and 1560.

A number of barrels formed part of the cargo, and recently one was
recovered intact from the seabed. It contained lumps or nodules of *osmotic*
iron. "And what the heck is that?" you ask. At that time Swedish iron ore
was forged into standard-sized lumps called "osmunds", not exactly ingots
but close. The lumps were exported to the Hanseatic League,
particularly to Lübeck
and Danzig. At least 20 of the Swedish ship's cargo barrels appear to
contain these lumps.

Not surprisingly, the barrel and its contents have been taken to a museum
for study.

The story of the barrel and its lumpy contents, along with a great computer
reconstruction of the wreck itself, is found at
https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/70349 .

Also of interest is a brief history of the Swedish iron and steel industry,
which discusses osmotic iron and Swedish the trade links with the Hanse:
https://www.jernkontoret.se/en/the-steel-industry/the-history-of-swedish-steel-industry/
 .

Yours Aye,


Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆
Continuing a crusade to keep Merry Rose relevant and in business.