Gribshunden – A Sunken Palace ?

 A diver working on the wreck of the Gribshunden

Forget the Mary Rose and the Titanic. Now there’s the Gribshunden and it lies in shallow waters just off the southern coast of Sweden. It was a sort of floating palace for King Hans of Denmark and in 1495, fifty years before the Mary Rose, it exploded and sank. Now it’s being excavated and one of our members, Guy Wilson, former Head of the Royal Armouries and an expert on medieval warfare, has been involved. Deciding what’s what is no easy task after it’s lain in the sea for over 500 years but Guy could tell us that pieces of wood were part of a crossbow or a bolt or a quiver or even a bollock dagger (don’t ask). There’s a lot more work to be done on the remains which are spread around the sea floor. There may even be more of the ship hidden in the sand. But remember, you first heard about it here.