Archaeologists have unveiled extraordinary details about late medieval shipboard artillery from the wreck of Gribshunden, the royal Danish-Norwegian flagship that sank in 1495. This discovery provides unprecedented insights into the technological foundations that enabled European expansion and colonization across the world, offering a rare glimpse into the ship-gun combinations that would dominate global maritime power for centuries.
According to a from Lund University report, the Gribshunden represents a crucial archaeological bridge between medieval and early modern warfare, carrying artillery identical to that used by Spanish and Portuguese explorers during the Age of Exploration. Marine archaeologist Brendan Foley, who led the study alongside fellow Lund University archaeologist Martin Hansson and medieval artillery expert Kay Douglas Smith, emphasized the significance of these findings for understanding European maritime dominance.