Norway recovers porcelain, chandeliers from 18th century shipwreck

Oslo: Archaeologists ​have recovered a trove of Chinese porcelain and European-made goods from a recently discovered ⁠18th-century shipwreck off the coast ⁠of Norway, government and museum ‌officials said ​on Monday.

Among the goods found in the remains of the unnamed sailing ship were tightly stacked white ​and blue ⁠porcelain bowls as well as goblets, textiles, grain and parts of chandeliers, the Norwegian Maritime Museum ⁠said.

The ‌ship, believed to have sunk around the mid-1700s, was found ‌by the owner of a ⁠salvage firm in the Skagerrak strait off southern Norway, ‌at a depth of ‌some 600 metres (2,000 feet), the museum ‌said.

"This find is ‌not only extraordinary, it's also of considerable scientific value and demonstrates an important technological advancement ⁠in ⁠underwater archaeology," Norway's Minister of Climate and Environment, Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, said in a statement.

The vessel's origin and destination are unknown, but work is ongoing to ​learn more about the wreck ​and its cargo, ​the Maritime Museum said.