|
 Back
| Historical
ship wrecks were protected by law in 1963.
Therefore, the divings by the wreck of the St.
George have been with the permission from the
National Forest and Nature Agency. The
Ringkjøbing Museum on behalf of the Keeper of
National Antiquities has been responsible for the
contact with the divers. First, with the divers
from the diving clubs and since 1983, when the
professional exploration began, with Jydsk
Dykkerfirma with Gert Normann as chief diver.
Gert Normann was one of the founders of the
diving club Delfinen that rediscovered the wreck
of the St. George in 1970. |
 |
The
salvage ship
M/S Honte in action |
|
The divers are all professional divers from
Jydsk Dykkerfirma and they work from one of the
company´s salvage ships "Honte" or
"Lodsen" and with the tug boat "Lille
Bjørn". Both the salvage ships are extremely
seaworthy and fit for the purpose.
 |
| A
proud diver with a find from H.M.S. St.
George. |
|
Other examples of the equipment
used are compressors, pumps, hoses, a sieve box,
diving systems, elevation bags, strops, measuring
equipment, underwater video cameras, photo
equipment, etc. Tubs, baskets, boxes and packing
materials are alos part of the quipment. Hundreds
of cubic meters of sand must be pumped out of
wreck in order to get to the items lying in it.
The pump is used by the divers to remove the sand
carefully from the finds which then can be
brought up in baskets or boxes. Small items such
as coins and buttons are sucked into pump and can
be taken from the sieve box allocated on the side
of the ship. The sieve box is provided with a
gridiron that allows water and sand to pass
through and into the sea again, whereas stones
and objects are caught by the gridiron.
Therefore, there are constantly two men placed by
the sieve box where they separate the small finds
from stones, etc.
|
The Ringkjøbing Museum is responsible for the
participation of museum officials and managed by the
museum keeper together with the relevant technicians.
There are photographers to document the finds with stills
and there are naval archaeologists and technicians with
diving certificates to do the measuring work inside and
outside the wreck. All finds are registered on board and
securely packed down, before they are brought ashore.
 |
HMS
St. George Drawing
by Thorkild Thomassen.
|
When the finds are brought ashore they
are first placed in fresh water to be watered down for
salt before the final and long lasting conservation. How
long they are to be submerged depends on the material.
For example textiles can sooner be taken out of the fresh
water and conserved whereas the large cannons must be in
water for several years.
To
start
|