In the chest of a ship that sank in 1660, scientists found a wedding dress (10 photos)

In 1660, off the coast of Texel Island, the largest islands in the North Sea, there was a tragic death of the Dutch ship. There was a huge amount of valuable cargo on board, including chests containing precious treasures such as expensive clothes, textiles, silverware, leather book bindings and much more.





The wreck of the ship "Palmwood", wrecked in the 17th century, found in 2009 by members of a diving club on Texel, an island at 95 kilometers north of Amsterdam. Underwater exploration and recovery artifacts were sold between 2014 and 2017.



Silk damask dress.

The ship found luxurious and unusually good surviving clothes, including an elegant dress embroidered silver knots, exquisite damask dress, women's dressing set and mirrors, and an Ottoman-style velvet caftan, dyed Mexican cochineal - a ruby-colored pigment obtained from insects in America.





The dress is made of light silk, faded over time, decorated with intricate silver embroidery in the form of knots.

In addition, a collection of 32 books was found on board. leather bindings dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. Although the pages are long dissolved, embossed covers allow you to identify volumes from France, Poland and one volume with the coat of arms of the British royal house of Stuart.



Leather cover of the book with the coat of arms of the Stuarts.

Based on the style of clothing and information from books, researchers first speculated that the wreckage could be part of the convoy carrying Henrietta Maria of France, wife English King Charles I, from England to France. In one of historical letters describe how in March 1642 the luggage the ship of the queen's retinue, on which were the wardrobes of her two ladies-in-waiting and their maids.



The silk case was part of the women's toiletry set.

The crash of 1642 was a working theory in 2016, however, with since then, researchers have received more information about the remains of the ship, in including the fact that the ship "Palmwood" was not launched until 1645 of the year.



Table mirror with two doors is decorated with silk velvet and metallic embroidery.

Based on dendrochronological data, researchers found that the trees for the ship were cut down after 1640. Taking into account the time required to build a ship and the average its service life in the 17th century, the researchers estimate that the ship sailed between 1645 and 1660.



Wooden comb.

Scientists are still not clear whose things the ship was transporting. "Palmwood". A variety of rich women's clothing, a collection of expensive books (some of which date back a century earlier), silverware and other luxuries lead some scholars to suggest that artifacts could belong to the wife of an aristocrat, perhaps going to the diplomatic service.



Damask fabric with embroidery (the fabric has lost its color over time from exposure to sea water).

There are also some mysteries here. For example, the absence of lingerie wardrobe, with the exception of silk socks and corsages.



Silk women's stockings, decorated with a pattern.

In addition, against the background of the rest of the women's wardrobe, the men's Ottoman caftan is knocked out.



Velvet Ottoman caftan dyed with Mexican cochineal.

The clothes are currently on display in special oxygen-free showcases of the maritime museum Kaap Skil. But most of more than 1500 artifacts recovered from the sunken ship are still awaiting study and conservation.