Actually, the salvage ship should fish the remains of the sunken containers of the damaged freighter „MSC Zoe“ from the North Sea. But what dangled just before the coast of Terschelling on the crane of the heavy ship were battered and green tarnished copper plates and holes, rotten wooden beams.
From a layman’s point of view, nothing but scrap and waste for the recycling center, a sensational discovery from the perspective of the marine archaeologist Thijs Coenen. Freight and ship, both are unique, the expert finds:
„This is the oldest ship we have ever encountered in the Netherlands, plus the most interesting cargo on board: copper, which was probably intended to be used to make the first copper coins in our country.“
Year of construction 1540
The ship was probably built around 1540, says Coenen. In any event, the trees that delivered the wood were definitely felled in the fall of 1536, the expert said after a first evaluation of the finds. It was probably a new generation of ships for the time – about 25 to 30 meters long and seven meters wide.
Cojen hopes to gain insight into the way such ships used to be built:
„For us, such a ship also marks the transition between different building traditions, and this ship has been designed according to a then-new design – for extra-large ships that could be used to drive on, and later sailed around the world.“
Copper the Fugger
Engravings in the oxidized copper plates indicate that the cargo belonged to the wealthy German banking and trading family Fugger, which had a copper monopoly in the 16th century.
Minister of Culture Ingrid van Engelshoven is convinced that research into the wreck and the cargo will provide important information about the so-called Golden Age of the Netherlands:
„The discovery of these copper plates tells us something about the trade in copper at that time and about how the rivers ran, but also how in the 16th century trade flourished in our cities and why copper coins were needed for which copper plates with ships in the Netherlands were driven. „
Divers should find out more
In summer, divers should investigate the site north of the island of Terschelling. Afterwards it is decided whether further remains of the ship will be recovered. The „MSC Zoe“ had lost almost 350 containers at the beginning of January in heavy weather. That the rescue of these containers now a ship from the 16th century was discovered, described the Minister as luck in misfortune. According to van Engelshoven, the find is an enrichment for the cultural heritage of the Netherlands.
