11 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

An unexpected shipwreck was unearthed at the Tallinn construction site

During the construction of the office building on Lootsi Street in Tallinn, Estonia’s capital on the Baltic Sea, a shipwreck was found underground, exceeding the size of any wreck previously excavated here.

The surprise didn’t stop there; Construction at Lootsi 8 began with the knowledge of a shipwreck on the property that wouldn’t be affected by planned work, however, an unexpected second wreck was unearthed as well, and it may be one of the best-preserved in the region.

The wreck was found at the mouth of the Härjapea River. The wreck was measured to be 24.5 meters long by 9.5 meters wide, and experts hope to unearth it in as large of pieces as possible.

“We have another 13th-century wreck on our property whose location is known, but the second one came completely unexpectedly,” said EHC Lootsi representative Tarmo Mill.

Ragnar Nurk, an archaeologist in Tallinn City Planning Board’s Department of Heritage Conservation, said the previously known wreck was three to four meters deep, but the newly found wreckage was much closer to the ground, about one and a half meters deep.

 Shipwrecks were found at Lootsi 8 construction site in Tallinn. Photo: Scanpix
Shipwrecks were found at Lootsi 8 construction site in Tallinn. Photo: Scanpix

Although the site is 200 meters (ca. 220 yards) from the water today, for centuries it was a port. In the late 1930s, the area was infilled with ash and household refuse. It’s not clear if the ships sank there are were gradually buried over time by siltification, or if they were deliberately sunk after reaching the end of their natural lives.

Archaeologist Mihkel Tammet, who led the excavations at OÜ Muinasprojekt, thinks that next Thursday the debris will be cleared, the water will be pumped out and all details of the wreck can be seen.

According to Estonian Maritime Museum Priit Lätti, initial dendroanalyses indicated that the recently discovered wreck may date back to the late 13th or early 14th century, an estimate which is being increasingly supported as more details are unearthed, but that further analysis would be necessary to confirm the dating.

According to Tammet, “Definitely one of the best-preserved shipwrecks ever found.”

An unexpected shipwreck was unearthed by construction work at Lootsi 8 in Tallinn's Sadama neighborhood, near the Port of Tallinn.  Photo: Patrik Tamm/ERR
An unexpected shipwreck was unearthed by construction work at Lootsi 8 in Tallinn’s Sadama neighborhood, near the Port of Tallinn. Photo: Patrik Tamm/ERR

Finding the wreckage brought some controversy. Heritage conservationists have suggested that the overall goal might be to get the wreckage underground as much as possible.

“We will do everything we can to get these wreck out of the ground, but what’s sad is that the state’s contribution to preserving our common heritage is nonexistent,” said EHC Lootsi representative Tarmo Mill, stressing that the wreck doesn’t belong to the company and the state should support its excavation.

Small interesting finds were also found from the wreckage. One of the interesting finds is a mallet. It is a tool made of pigskin, used by sailors to tie the ends of a rope.

Postimees

Related Articles

Spanish Stonehenge re-emerges from the ‘Valdecañas reservoir’

19 August 2022

19 August 2022

Submerged by the Valdecañas reservoir for decades, the Guadalperal dolmen has been fully exposed as it was two summers ago....

Archaeologists unearth 3,500-Year-Old Gold Jewelry in Egypt

14 December 2022

14 December 2022

Archaeologists discovered a collection of ornate jewelry at the Tell El-Amarna necropolis on the Nile River’s eastern bank in modern-day...

To The West of Turkey Ancient Quarry Found

28 March 2021

28 March 2021

Turkey is very lucky in terms of ancient settlements. It is home to many unexplored artifacts, along with well-preserved ancient...

Underwater Researchers Found Temples to Ancient Gods in Sunken City

20 September 2023

20 September 2023

Two temples belonging to the Egyptian god Amun and the Greek goddess Aphrodite were found in the sunken city off...

A burial complex and an Ancient Dog Statue have been unearthed during excavations in Appio Latino quarter the Rome

8 January 2022

8 January 2022

Workers laying pipes for utility company Acea at Via Luigi Tosti in Rome’s Appio Latino quarter have unearthed an ancient...

Urartian King Argishti’s shield reveals the name of an unknown country

30 January 2023

30 January 2023

The inscription on a bronze shield purchased by the Rezan Has Museum revealed the name of an unknown country. It...

İnkaya Cave excavations in Türkiye’s western uncovers 86,000-year-old traces of human life

22 August 2023

22 August 2023

In the excavations carried out in the İnkaya Cave in Çanakkale, located in the northwestern part of Türkiye, in addition...

Excavations at Sheffield Castle Reveal the First Surviving Examples of 17th-Century Civil War Abatis

9 March 2025

9 March 2025

Excavations at Sheffield Castle, part of the Castlegate regeneration project by Sheffield City Council, have revealed the first known surviving...

Oldest known alphabet unearthed in ancient Syrian city -500 years older than thought

22 November 2024

22 November 2024

Johns Hopkins University researchers uncovered evidence of the oldest alphabetic writing in human history. The writing was etched onto finger-length...

The circular-shaped structure unearthed in Uşaklı mound may point to the holy Hittite city of Zippalanda

27 December 2022

27 December 2022

Italian-Turkish team of archaeologists led by the University of Pisa unearthed a mysterious circle-shaped structure from the Hittite era at...

In Oman, a 4,000-year-old Early Bronze Age settlement was unearthed

25 January 2022

25 January 2022

A large settlement dating back more than 4,000 years has been discovered in Oman. Archaeological excavations in the Wilayat of Rustaq,...

The newly discovered fossils are 200,000 years old in Denisova Cave

29 November 2021

29 November 2021

Scientists have discovered the earliest remains of a human lineage known as the Denisovans. Researchers have identified stone artifacts connected...

Ancient Egyptian Kohl recipes more diversified than previously thought

28 April 2022

28 April 2022

Researchers analyzed the contents of 11 kohl containers from the Petrie Museum collection in London and have revealed that the...

Archaeologists discovered a mausoleum dating back to Golden Horde era in Kazakhstan

8 July 2023

8 July 2023

Remains of a mausoleum dating back to the Golden Horde in the 15th century were discovered on the territory of...

More than 100 bronze mirrors found at Sakurai Chausuyama burial mound in Japan

3 October 2023

3 October 2023

Archaeologists in Japan have unearthed more than 100 ancient bronze mirrors from the Sakurai Chausuyama burial mound in Sakurai, Nara...