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Archaeologists have uncovered a pair of Danish slave ships that sank off the Central American coast in 1710, shedding more light on the role played by Denmark in the transatlantic trafficking of humans in the 18th century.
Researchers analysed timber and bricks taken from the shipwrecks during an underwater excavation off Costa Rica in 2023, and assessed samples, including clay pipes, from their cargo.
The analysis revealed that the ships were most likely slave trade vessels Fridericus Quartus and Christianus Quintus, two of the “most dramatic shipwrecks” in the history of Denmark.
“The bricks are Danish and same goes for the timbers which are additionally charred and sooty from a fire,” David Gregory, marine archaeologist from the National Museum of Denmark, said. “This fits perfectly with the historical accounts stating that one of the ships was burnt.”
Researchers analysed tree ring patterns on the oak wood from one of the sunken ships and found the timbers originated in the western part of the Baltic Sea encompassing the northeastern German province of Mecklenburg, Denmark, and Scania.
They estimated that the tree was cut down sometime between 1690 and 1695.
Some of the wood was found charred and sooty, confirming historical accounts of one of the vessels being set ablaze.
Bricks taken from the shipwrecks were found to be similar to Flensburg bricks used in Denmark and Danish colonies, researchers said.
The clay pipe too was found to be of Danish origin, likely from the Flensburg Fjord region, which in the 18th century was home to a sizeable brickmaking industry.
According to historical records, Fridericus Quartus was set afire while Christianus Quintus got wrecked in the surf after its anchor rope was cut.
The two wrecks were known to lie in the shallow waters off the Cahuita National Park in Costa Rica but were for long thought to be pirate ships, until the discovery of strange yellow bricks on one of them in 2015 raised questions among American marine archaeologists.
Such bricks, it was known, were used in Denmark and Danish colonies in the 18th and 19th centuries.
“The analyses are very convincing and we no longer have any doubts that these are the wrecks of the two Danish slave ships,” Dr Gregory said.
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