Shipwrecks revealing the past: “It’s like being a fly on the wall”

“To board a wreck that has remained undisturbed since the seventeenth century is like being a fly on the wall. It allows us to imagine the people who once lived and worked on board, and to reflect on who they were,” says Niklas Eriksson, associate professor of maritime archaeology at the Department of archaeology and classical studies at Stockholm University.

His field of expertise spans seafaring and maritime industries, from ancient harbours to objects that have found their way underwater for various reasons. Yet shipwrecks remain his greatest passion.

“They are the ultimate artefact — at once a machine, a dwelling and a work of art, often richly decorated with sculpture. That complexity makes them exceptionally rewarding to study. Moreover, we frequently know very little about them at the moment of discovery,” he says.

An unexpected discovery

He is currently involved in mapping the seventeenth-century warship Falken, a vessel discovered in the Finnish archipelago fifty years ago.

When did you realise it was Falken?

“Only very recently. A group of Finnish sport divers created a 3D model of the ship and posted it online. One day, while idly browsing information about old wrecks, I realised it must be a seventeenth-century warship.”

Archival research revealed that the wreck was the Vasa’s smaller sister ship, Falken, in effect a miniature Vasa, measuring just 35 metres compared with the Vasa’s 47. Unlike the Vasa, however, Falken did not sink on her maiden voyage, but only after twenty years in service.

“Ships like these were built entirely without drawings. That is why a wreck such as Falken offers a valuable insight into what a seventeenth-century warship actually looked like. It reveals how people lived and what daily life on board was really like. From Falken, we can see that attitudes to privacy were very different from our own. The ship’s toilet, for instance, was out in the open, fully visible to everyone on board.”

Click on the image to view the 3D model.

Like a jigsaw puzzle

Once back from a dive like the one on Falken, the next phase begins: piecing together archival and other source material linked to the wreck.

“For me, coming home after a dive and beginning to piece everything together is just as exciting as the dive itself. It allows us to understand what we have seen on the wreck in an entirely new way. By combining different sources and methods, we gradually build a richer picture, making it possible to experience life on board the ship as it once was.”

A variety of sources

According to Niklas Eriksson, Falken is particularly rewarding to study because the wreck is supported by an unusually rich body of documentation. Extensive archival material can be combined with the archaeological evidence, creating a rare depth of insight. In addition to crew lists recording those who served and sailed on the ship, there are accounts and inventories detailing the food supplies and equipment taken on board.

On the wall of Eriksson’s office hangs a drawing of Falken. He traces his finger along the lower part of the hull, indicating where the galley was once located.

“It’s not every day you have the chance to step into a seventeenth-century kitchen. As we swim through the wreck, we see wooden tubs and cooking utensils still in place. The accounts tell us they prepared dishes such as peas and eel, so we have both the recipes and the kitchen. Only the people are missing.”

What makes maritime archaeology so fascinating?

“There is an extraordinary amount of culture hidden beneath the surface. Central Stockholm alone is filled with objects from different periods — everything from medieval pottery to electric scooters, as well as a remarkable number of shipwrecks. What makes underwater archaeology particularly exciting is the exceptional state of preservation. On land at Birka, in the area known as the Black Earth, almost no organic material survives. Underwater, however, organic materials such as wood are preserved extraordinarily well, which means that large quantities of Viking Age timber still lie beneath the surface around Birka.”

Which is your most memorable discovery?

“Each project becomes a favourite once I engage with it in depth, but the Riddarholmen ship perhaps stands out. As Sweden’s oldest known warship, dating from the early sixteenth century, it sank in central Stockholm. Although salvaged in 1930 and exhibited at the Museum of Medieval Stockholm, it had been wrongly assembled for many years. By re-examining the unexhibited components, we were ultimately able to reconstruct what proved to be a fundamentally different vessel. That was deeply rewarding.”

When is research most rewarding?

“It’s when the pieces start to fall into place. That act of assembling the fragments to catch sight of the people behind them is what motivates me. Archaeology reminds us that there are countless ways of being human, and countless ways of understanding the past, and, in turn, ourselves.”

What do you hope to find next?

“I’m often asked that. But the most exciting discoveries are the unexpected ones, finding something you weren’t searching for, allowing yourself to be surprised.”