Archaeologists Find Unique Weapons Chest on 15th-century Shipwreck

Researchers inspect and document timbers belonging to the ship’s superstructure (Florian Huber)
Researchers inspect and document timbers belonging to the ship’s superstructure (Florian Huber)
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Archaeologists Find Unique Weapons Chest on 15th-century Shipwreck

Researchers inspect and document timbers belonging to the ship’s superstructure (Florian Huber)
Researchers inspect and document timbers belonging to the ship’s superstructure (Florian Huber)

Archaeologists have found a unique weapons chest in a sunken 15th-century ship off the coast of Sweden, Britian’s The Independent newspaper reported.

They assessed the remains of the Danish flagship Gribshunden, or Griffin, which caught fire during its voyage to Kalmar in 1495 and sank in the Blekinge archipelago with a hundred German mercenaries onboard, said the report.

While underwater analysis of the ship has been carried out since 2013, much of the weaponry linked to its soldiers has escaped detailed examination.

A new survey has enabled archaeologists to reconstruct and analyze the ship’s superstructure, offering more insights about what the vessel looked like and its military capability. It has also helped identify and document two cannon carriages and a weapons chest onboard the ship.

“It’s an ammunition tool chest, probably belonging to the German mercenaries who were on board at the time of the sinking,” Rolf Warming, who was involved in the survey, said.

“The contents of the weapon chest are undeniably one of the most important finds,” he added. “It contains, among other things, several different molds and lead plates for the manufacture of lead bullets for early handguns.”

Researchers believe studying the ship will help understand the evolution of military technology during an era when primary tactics shifted from hand-to-hand combat to heavy naval artillery fire.

“The ship will therefore also be compared with other important and uniquely preserved wrecks – such as Mars (1564) and Vasa (1628) – in order to understand this development,” The Independent quoted Warming as saying.

Researchers previously found armor fragments scattered at the wreck site, likely from the apparel of crew members.



Iceland Volcano Erupts for 9th Time Since 2023

Lava emerges through a fissure following a volcano eruption near Grindavik, Reykjanes, Iceland July 16, 2025. Hordur Kristleifsson via Civil Protection Of Iceland/Handout via REUTERS
Lava emerges through a fissure following a volcano eruption near Grindavik, Reykjanes, Iceland July 16, 2025. Hordur Kristleifsson via Civil Protection Of Iceland/Handout via REUTERS
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Iceland Volcano Erupts for 9th Time Since 2023

Lava emerges through a fissure following a volcano eruption near Grindavik, Reykjanes, Iceland July 16, 2025. Hordur Kristleifsson via Civil Protection Of Iceland/Handout via REUTERS
Lava emerges through a fissure following a volcano eruption near Grindavik, Reykjanes, Iceland July 16, 2025. Hordur Kristleifsson via Civil Protection Of Iceland/Handout via REUTERS

A volcano erupted on Wednesday in Iceland's Reykjanes peninsula in the southwest, weather authorities said, the ninth eruption to hit the region since the end of 2023.

Live video feeds showed lava spewing out of a fissure in the ground, with the Icelandic Met Office saying that it began just before 4:00 am (0400 GMT).

Broadcaster RUV reported that the nearby fishing village Grindavik had been evacuated, as had the Blue Lagoon, Iceland's famed tourist spot.

The previous eruption to hit the area was in April.

When the first volcanic eruption first hit the area in late 2023, most of Grindavik's 4,000 residents were evacuated, AFP reported.

Since then, almost all of the houses have been sold to the state, and most of the residents have left.

Volcanoes on the Reykjanes peninsula had not erupted for eight centuries when in March 2021 a period of heightened seismic activity began.