Swedish divers have hauled up a monster (or a grinning dog if you see it that way) once intended to impress or frighten enemy sailors facing a warship built in the late 1400s for King Hans of Denmark. The ship sank after a fire near the Swedish village of Ronneby.
The figurehead, which weighs over 300 kg, was found in June and hauled up last week. It will spend several months in a bath of sugar water to draw out the salt that’s seeped into the wood. Meanwhile, the nearby Blekinge museum will allow visitors to see it in its bath. Eventually, in consultation with other experts, it will be preserved and displayed.
The recovery itself became a public event, with thousands crowding the waterfront to watch the head being raised to the surface and loaded for transport to the museum.
