HUNDREDS of bottles of champagne and fancy mineral water have been discovered in a shipwreck at the bottom of the ocean.
A team of Polish divers discovered the wreckage of an old sailing ship loaded to the brim with luxury goods.
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Among the wreckage, divers found porcelain items and about 100 bottles of Champagne and mineral water 190 feet deep off the Swedish coast.
The private Baltictech group of divers made the discovery on July 11 while checking spots of interest about 20 nautical miles south of the isle of Oland.
Tomasz Stachura, leader of the Baltictech diving group, said: “There was so much of it that it was hard to estimate the amounts.”
Stachura said two divers had been gone for nearly two hours after leaving for a “quick drive”, so they “knew there was something very interesting on the bottom”.
They were stunned to discover hundreds of bottles of champagne and mineral water produced by Selters, a German brand that still exists today.
Stachura said: “We encountered a 19th century sailing ship in very good condition, loaded to the sides with champagne, wine, mineral water and porcelain.
“We saw more than 100 bottles of champagne and baskets of mineral water in clay bottles.
“I’ve been a diver for 40 years, but I’ve never seen crates with bottles of alcohol and baskets of water like this.
“Interestingly, the pottery factory into which the water was bottled also exists, and we are in contact with them to find out more details.”
The clay bottles helped them date the wreck to between 1850 and 1867.
Stachura believes the cargo was making its way to the Russian Tsar Nicholas I, who reportedly lost a ship in the region in 1852.
He added: “That would explain why the ship had this cargo – which was all very exclusive.
“In those days, mineral water was treated almost like a medicine and only went on royal tables.
“Its value was so precious that the transports were escorted by police.”
He said they have informed the Swedish authorities about the discovery, but believes they will need a year or more to organise a salvage mission.
Stachura stated: “It has been lying there for 170 years so let it lie there for one more year.
“We will have time to better prepare for the operation.”
The brand of mineral water, Selters, was imprinted on the stoneware bottles.
Stachura added: “The Champagne brand is still to be determined, but the letter R could be seen on one cork.
“At this depth the wreckage is perfectly preserved, the temperature is constant, there are no currents and its dark.
“That preserves the wreckage in a wonderful way.
He said he believes the contents are still in good condition.
He said Champagne and Selters experts have already contacted Baltictech and are interested in doing laboratory tests on the contents of the bottles.
Divers from Baltictech previously discovered the wreck of the SS Karlsruhe, the last ship to leave Koenigsberg in 1945 as part of the evacuation of German civilians in World War II.
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