Just five feet beneath the streets of Tallinn, a 700-year-old ship belonging to the Hanseatic League, a powerful trading network that spanned England to Russia and was established in 1356, has been discovered.

During construction work in the Estonian capital, the 80-foot-long vessel, which was thought to be a Hanseatic cog from the 13th century, was discovered.

The ship was the Hanseatic League’s backbone, and at its height, it even went to war to safeguard its members’ interests.

The Bremen Cog, discovered in Germany in 1962, is the most well-known surviving example.

However, according to archaeologist Mihkel Tammet, the newly discovered wreck was even better preserved than its well-known relative.

He stated, “It’s very good compared to the Bremen Cog.”

The ship is nine meters wide and 24 meters long. Up to a distance of three meters from the ship’s bottom, the boards remain intact.

It is constructed of massive oak planks and logs. The ship has planking that overlaps and is covered in tar and animal hair.

“We have discovered some tools and fragments of medieval leather shoes, as well as wool material that was used for packing.”

“We hope to find more during the ongoing excavations.”

A 700-year-old ship that was part of the Hanseatic League has been found just five feet beneath the streets of Tallin. The 80ft-long vessel, thought to be a 13th-century Hanseatic cog, was found during construction work in the Estonian captial

The ship was the workhorse of the Hanseatic League, which at its zenith even waged war to protect its members’ interests

The wreck is 82 years older than the Bremen Cog thanks to a dendrochronology test on the wood.

The ship was discovered five feet (1.5 meters) below the surface at a location near Tallinn harbor, close to the former Härjapea River mouth, a no longer-existent waterway.

In 2008, another historic wreck was discovered 164 feet (50 meters) away, so Tammet was asked to oversee the construction of a new office building in case there were any more discoveries.

He explained that the entire area had been submerged previously.

‘This region was still under the ocean in the eighteenth hundred years,’ he said.

We had almost two meters of water here 800 years ago.

‘There were likely shallower submerged sand edges which were difficult to plan since they changed their shape and area in light of ice floats and tempests.

“Under the sediments, our ship was discovered on one of these ridges.” It sank close to the mouth of the Härjapea river.’

Tammet contacted the Tallinn city government’s archaeologist Ragnar Nurk after seeing the wreck.

The cog would now be relocated, according to Nurk.

The ship was found 1.5m underground at a site near Tallinn harbour, close to the former mouth of the Härjapea River – a waterway that no longer exists
As the Hanseatic League grew, it established a virtual monopoly over maritime trade in the Baltic – and the cog was its ship of choice

He stated, “The wreck will be removed from its current position to permit the construction to continue.”

“At the moment, there are two main choices: It will go to the maritime museum or the wreck preservation area near Naissaar Island in Tallinn Bay.

‘Sadly the size and confined states of development don’t let us to move the boat away in one section.’

The Hanseatic League boasted guilds and towns from Russia to the Netherlands among its members at its height, as well as satellite outposts in several English cities.

By transporting raw materials like furs, wax, grain, fish, flax, hemp, wood, and timber products like pitch, tar, and potato from the East to the West, as well as cloths, metal goods, weapons, and spices from the East, it dominated the trade between the north-east and north-west of Europe.

Another historic wreck had been found 50 metres away in 2008, so when construction began on a new office building, Tammet was called upon to supervise in case of further discoveries. He explained that the whole area had once been underwater

A representative of the company EHC Lootsi OÜ confirmed that the ship was found on their land but provided no further comment. However it’s predicted that the cog’s discovery will delay completion of their new office building by two months, according to Estonian media
The cog was its preferred ship, and as it grew, it established a virtual monopoly on maritime trade in the Baltic.

It was an economical means of shipping because it had more cargo space than its predecessor, a flat bottom for accessing shallow waters, and a simple sail setup that required fewer men to operate.

The recently discovered wreck was near the larger end of the size spectrum because they measured between 15 and 25 meters (50 and 80 feet).

The association ultimately got so strong that it even did battle with Denmark to safeguard its inclinations, firing Copenhagen and incurring an embarrassing truce for Ruler Valdemar IV.

A delegate of the organization EHC Lootsi Oü affirmed that the boat was tracked down on their property yet gave no further remark.

However, according to Estonian media, the discovery of the cog is anticipated to delay the completion of their new office building by two months.