Two sunken 18th-century ships with bottles and ceramics found at the bottom of the Baltic Sea (11 photos)

In May, Polish divers were investigating the wreck of a Nazi submarine from World War II in the Baltic Sea. Instead, they found a 300-year-old ship with its cargo intact, and another one the next day.





They were found just three miles off the Hel Spit in northern Poland, both resting at a depth of 60 to 70 meters.

A spokesman for marine research company Baltictech said: “We have found two well-preserved vessels just two kilometers apart.”









The bottles and pottery were sent for examination.

The researchers found that some of the pottery from the first ship was made in the Westerwald mountain region of western Germany between 1725 and 1740. Baltictech added that the second ship was built in the late 18th century.

"It's a shame that they are right on the waterway (between Gdansk and Gdynia) and will probably spend decades there. We also came across a well-preserved airplane wheel that definitely shouldn't have been there. We'll probably never solve this mystery."







Baltictech made headlines last July when it discovered a sunken ship about 20 nautical miles south of the Swedish island of Öland. At the wreck site were hundreds of bottles of expensive champagne and mineral water from the German brand Selters, which still exists today.



Diver Tomasz Stachura said: "We found a 19th-century sailing vessel in very good condition. It was fully loaded with champagne, wine, mineral water and porcelain. We counted more than 100 bottles of champagne and baskets of mineral water in clay bottles.

The clay bottles helped date the wreck between 1850 and 1867."



Stakhura believes that the ship could have been heading to St. Petersburg with cargo for Tsar Nicholas I. He explained: “This explains the presence of exclusive cargo on the ship. In those days, mineral water was considered almost a medicine and was served only on royal tables.”