Vasa or Wasa is a Swedish warship built between 1626 and 1628. The ship sank after sailing roughly 1,300 m (1,400 yd) into her maiden voyage on 10 August 1628. She fell into obscurity after most of her valuable bronze cannons were salvaged in the 17th century, until she was located again in the late 1950s in a busy shipping area in Stockholm harbor. The ship was salvaged with a largely intact hull in 1961. She was housed in a temporary museum called Wasavarvet until 1988 and then moved permanently to the Vasa Museum in the Royal National City Park in Stockholm. The ship is one of Sweden's most popular tourist attractions and has been seen by over 35 million visitors since 1961. Since her recovery, Vasa has become a widely recognized symbol of the Swedish Empire.
Vasa's port bow
Vasa's port side
A model showing a cross section of Vasa's hull, illustrating the shallow hold and two gun decks
The inside of the lower gun deck looking toward the bow. The interior of the ship does not contain any guns or any of the original contents and is currently fitted with modern lighting and other safety features.
Maritime archaeology is a discipline within archaeology as a whole that specifically studies human interaction with the sea, lakes and rivers through the study of associated physical remains, be they vessels, shore-side facilities, port-related structures, cargoes, human remains and submerged landscapes. A specialty within maritime archaeology is nautical archaeology, which studies ship construction and use.
A maritime archaeologist with the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program in St. Augustine, Florida, recording the ship's bell discovered on the 18th century "Storm Wreck."
Submerged bridge under Lake Murray, South Carolina in 160 ft (49 m) of fresh water seen on side-scan sonar imagery using a Humminbird 981c Side Imaging system
The final phases of the salvage of Mary Rose on October 11, 1982.
The bow of Vasa, a Swedish warship that foundered and sank on its maiden voyage in 1628. It was salvaged in 1961 and is now on permanent display at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm.