At first, divers in the Baltic Sea thought they saw the wreckage of a fishing boat on their sonar.
But when they went to investigate, they found a 19th Century sailing ship that was ‘loaded to the sides’ with champagne, wine, mineral water and porcelain.
There were more than 100 bottles of champagne on the wreck, which was located about 20 nautical miles south of the Aland Islands, situated between Sweden and Finland.
When members of the Polish diving group Baltitech, which specialises in exploring shipwrecks in the Baltic, came across their find, they described it as ‘treasure’.
Team leader Tomasz Statchura believes the shipment could have been destined for a Russian tsar, Tsar Nicholas I, who reportedly lost a ship in the area in 1852.
The team said on their website that at first there were doubts there would be anyone willing to go down, but two divers decided to explore and took the plunge.
When they failed to return after two hours, the remaining team members suspected that ‘there was something very interesting on the bottom’.
They found the untouched wreck, of which very little had yet been examined.
Mr Stachura told the BBC: ‘There was so much of it that it was difficult for us to judge the quantities. I’ve been a diver for 40 years. From time to time, you see one or two bottles. But I’ve never seen crates with bottles of alcohol and baskets of water like this.’
Along with the 100 bottles of champagne, there were baskets of mineral water in clay containers.
These clay bottles allowed the group to date the shipment to between 1850 and 1867, and were produced by the German company Selters, which may provide clues about the ship’s ownership.
The team explained how precious the cargo was. They said: ‘In those days, mineral water was treated almost like medicine and only found its way to royal tables.
‘Its value was so precious that transports were escorted by the police. We came across about 100 sealed bottles.’
Mr Stachura told the BBC that he believes that the champagne and prestigious mineral water would still be drinkable today.
For now, the treasure is staying where it is, with underwater archaeologists called in to assist. Swedish authorities have been notified, and administration also has to be done before it can be brought to the surface.
However, this is not the oldest champagne ever found in a Baltic shipwreck. In 2010, diving instructor Christian Ekstrom and his team discovered around 30 bottles of champagne on a sunken ship near the Aland Islands.
Those bottles, found at a depth of 200ft, were thought to be from the 1780s and likely on route to Russia.
