More than a thousand ancient shipwrecks could still be lying beneath the Baltic Sea off the coast of Latvia, according to estimates cited by Latvian archaeologists. The Baltic is unusually well suited to preserving wrecks because its cold, dark, brackish and oxygen-poor waters can protect wooden remains for centuries. Swedish researchers have identified about 17,000 sunken vessels across the region, while experts believe the real number could be as high as 100,000. In Latvian waters alone, calculations suggest that at least 1,000 wrecks may exist, although only about 200 ancient wrecks have been identified so far. Many others are known only from historical records. Together, these remains form an enormous underwater archive, offering clues about travel, trade, warfare, technology and everyday life that may have disappeared almost completely from the land. And human stories from the past remain hidden below.
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