Divers Follow a Yellow-Brick Road to an Astonishing Underwater Discovery

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Marine archaeologists have discovered a ' yellow-brick road'. At the base of the Atlantic Ocean, they uncovered the remains of two long-missing Danish slave vessels.

Based on historical documents, these vessels named Fridericus Quartus and Christianus Quintus ran aground off the Central American coastline in 1710.

Frederick IV was set ablaze, whereas Christian V had its mooring line severed and was wrecked on the shore. However, for three hundred years, nobody knew precisely where the remnants of these vessels lay hidden.

In Costa Rica, people were well aware for a long time of two shipwrecks found offshore from Cahuita National Park, but disregarded them as submerged pirate vessels.

The change occurred in 2015 when U.S. marine archaeologists discovered yellow bricks at one of the wreck sites, prompting fresh inquiries into their past.

Scientists from the National Museum of Denmark along with those from the Viking Ship Museum conducted an underwater excavation In 2023, regarding the ships, they took wood samples from one of the wrecks, recovered bricks, and found multiple clay pipes.

On Sunday, the team released their examination of these artifacts, uncovering that the sunken ships were indeed the long-lost remnants of Frederik IV and Christian V.

"The findings are highly persuasive, and we no longer harbor any doubt that these are indeed the remains of the two Danish slave vessels," stated co-researcher David Gregory from the National Museum of Denmark.

"The bricks originate from Denmark, as do the timber beams, which show signs of charring and soot due to a fire. This aligns with historical records indicating that one of the vessels was consumed by flames," he noted additionally. statement .

The dimensions of the bricks showed that they matched the size of the 'Flensburg' yellow bricks utilized in Denmark and its colonies throughout the 18th century.

The analysis of their clay showed that it originated in Denmark, more precisely from either Iller Strand beach or the small town of Egernsund.

Both of these places are located near the Flensburg Fjord, which was home to a large brick-producing industry in the 18th century, according to the National Museum of Denmark.

The scientists employed dendrochronology to ascertain the origin of the oak timber taken from one of the shipwrecks, discovering that it comes from a tree in the western region of the Baltic Sea which was felled between 1690 and 1695.

The timber was likewise blackened and covered in soot, consistent with historic accounts suggesting that one of the vessels had been scorched by fire.

The clay pipes provide additional proof that the vessels were indeed Danish since they turned out to be Dutch-manufactured pipes frequently discovered aboard Danish ships during that period.

According to the researchers, 'The dimensions, forms, and designs of the pipes indicate that they were manufactured shortly before the vessels sank in 1710.'

Gregory headed the research together with marine archaeologist Andreas Kallmeyer Bloch, who has spent many years trying to uncover the source of the wrecks off Costa Rica.

'I have gone through a lengthy process and at times came very close to quitting,' Bloch stated.

'But this is undoubtedly the craziest archaeological excavation I've yet been part of. Not only because it matters greatly to the local population, but also because it's one of the most dramatic shipwrecks in the history of Denmark, and now we know exactly where it happened.

'He stated that this fills two gaps in Denmark's history.'

Denmark outlawed the transatlantic slave trade in 1792; however, full abolition of slavery did not occur until 1847, as stated by the museum.

The undertaking was conducted by the museum's recently established research center, Njord, which intends to explore numerous additional Danish shipwrecks across various locations globally.

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