A 400-year-old Swedish warship has become visible in Stockholm after Baltic Sea levels dropped to a century low, revealing a well-preserved hull used as a bridge foundation.

STOCKHOLM: A 17th-century Swedish Navy shipwreck, submerged for 400 years, has dramatically reappeared in central Stockholm due to historically low water levels in the Baltic Sea.

The wooden hull’s planks have been visible above the water off Kastellholmen island since early February, clearly outlining the vessel’s skeleton.

Marine archaeologist Jim Hansson from Stockholm’s Vrak – Museum of Wrecks confirmed the find is a warship deliberately sunk by the navy.

Experts believe the ship was scuttled around 1640 after its service to form a foundation for a new bridge to Kastellholmen.

Archaeologists have not identified the exact vessel, as it is one of five similar wrecks from the late 16th and early 17th centuries aligned to support the bridge.

“This is a solution, instead of using new wood you can use the hull itself, which is oak,” Hansson explained.

He noted the Baltic Sea’s lack of shipworm has preserved the oak timbers for four centuries.

Parts of the wreck surfaced briefly in 2013, but current visibility is unprecedented due to the Baltic’s lowest water levels in about 100 years.

Hansson attributed the phenomenon to a prolonged high-pressure system over the Nordic region pushing water out into the North Sea and Atlantic.

A research programme called “the Lost Navy” is now working to identify and date the many Swedish naval wrecks on the Baltic seabed.

 The Sun Malaysia