AT SEA NEAR RONNEBY, Sweden A wooden figurehead of a sea monster with ears like a lion and a crocodile’s jaw was carefully lifted from the sea in southern Sweden on Tuesday by divers bringing up treasures from the wreck of a 15th-century Danish warship. It’s a sea monster: dragon, with lion ears and a crocodile-like mouth.
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“Last time it looked at the world, Leonardo da Vinci and Christopher Columbus were still living”, Ronnby added.
Johan Ronnby, professor of marine archaeology at Södertörn, expressed his amazement at how well the figurehead has survived at the bottom of the sea. The ship, which dates back to about the same period as Christopher Columbus’ Santa Maria, is considered the best preserved example of a ship from the period albeit the ship’s hull has suffered extensive damage. That seemed to somehow fit with the name of the ship itself, the Gribshunden, literally meaning griffon-dog, even though such a creature would have had the head of an eagle. We know that it should be a fantastic, but it was over our expectations when we saw it now. He said that the figure is unique in the world.
Strangely, there seems to be something in the mouth, as if he is eating a human being.
Ronnby, who thinks the intricately carved object depicts what looks like a monstrous dog, said that the figure appears to have something in its mouth. Reportedly, in 1495, the Gribshunden sunk into the Baltic sea due to catching on fire while travelling from Copenhagen to eastern coast of Sweden. This what we have today, it’s just fantastic.
It’s believed to have been a part of the Gribshunden, a Danish ship belong to the reigning king of that time, King John.
Other rare artifacts were previously recovered and are now on display in museums.
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“I think there are going to be more excavations around here and we’re going to find some more unique objects”. Many nautical researchers believe that the ship was cutting edge technology for its time, built from trees that were cut down in the winter of 1482.
