New Data from a Well-Preserved 17th-Century Fluit Wreck in Tallinn Bay

In 2012, a well-preserved wooden sailing vessel was found near Tallinn, Estonia. Initial research suggested it to be a fluit, a merchant vessel from the first half of the 17th century. New and more thorough research was carried out in 2022 and this article summarises the results of the later fieldwork. New finds and measurements suggest a later dating than the initial one – construction in the second half of 17th century and sinking somewhere during the last quarter of the century. The vessel has a lot of similarities with other well-preserved fluit wrecks that are used here as a comparison. The origin of the vessel is yet unknown, but clay analysis of the brick used in the galley suggests a location somewhere around Lübeck – a well-known trading partner of Tallinn (then called Reval).