Objects raised from the medieval wreck site in Nauvo

One of the tasks of the Maritime Archaeology Unit is to list and keep catalogues of items raised from underwater sites. The collection of items is kept by the Maritime Museum of Finland.

The Maritime History Archive is open on weekdays from 9 am to 3 pm. If you would like to visit the archive, please contact Maija Matikka in the Maritime Archaeology Unit [contact information].

Maritime archaeological objects are exposed also on a Web site (in Finnish).

	The ceramics dishes Nearly all the ceramics raised in the summer of 2002 and 2003 are stoneware hardened at a high temperature. It is probable that the dishes were made in Bengerode in the Lower Saxony and most likely they are from the 1310’s -1330’s. The dishes are different wheel thrown jugs and smaller mugs and goblets. The jugs are cone shaped, their height is 20-30 centimetres and they have roll stamps on them. The mugs are round-bellied drinking cups with ears and thumb print decorations. The colour of the clay is grey or brown and in some of the mugs you can see wood ash glass composition. The goblets are small brown drinking vessels the rim of which is shaped a bit like a four-leaved clover. Small drinking cups like these (Vierpassbecher in German) were made in the Lower Saxony at the beginning of the 14th century.
	The church bell The bell, which was raised in 2003, was on the sea bottom at the depth of app. 7 metres surrounded by other items from the cargo. The height of the bell with its crown is app. 60 centimetres and the diameter of the mouth is 50 centimetres. The clapper is missing. One of the ears of the crown is broken and missing. So far any decorations, writings or traces of use have not been found.
	The bronze pot The bronze pot, which was raised in the summer of 2002, had got entangled in the wooden parts of the wreck. The pot has a tapering mouth, two ears and three slender legs. One of the legs terminates in a paw foot, which is typical for early pots. The height of the pot is 21 centimetres and the maximum diameter 19 centimetres, the diameter of the mouth being 15 centimetres.
	The preforms of stone grinders The length of the preforms of stone grinders varies from 50 to 70 centimetres. The cross section is square, the side-length varying from 3,5 to 6 centimetres. The origin of these objects is not yet known but the rock type of two of them is being examined by outside experts.