Majestic sailing ships are associated with distant voyages into the unknown, discoveries of new (for Europeans) lands and stories about pirates. How did it all start?

In 1959, near Mount Ararat in Turkey, fossilized remains of a ship were found, considered to be a possible relic of the so-called Noah's Ark, especially since the description of the ship corresponds to the reality of the find. Of course, it could have been another large sailing boat from a historical period that is difficult to determine. There is no doubt that the development of sailing by the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans had a strong influence on the development of European countries, but China probably led in this field for a long time.

In 1962, in Nanking, archaeologists discovered the remains of the largest historical sailing ships in history; multi-masted vessels with a height of 60 m probably belonged to the famous fleet of ships called Baochuan. Historical records tell us, among other things, about the expeditions of Captain Zheng He in the Indian Ocean.

In Europe, in the Middle Ages, maritime trade was mainly based on much smaller single-masted ships called Koga. They were common, among others, in the ports of the cities of the Hanseatic League.

In Columbus's time, larger and larger units were built, increasingly boldly venturing into distant unknown ocean waters, but these were still single-masted sailing ships called Karak, popular in the 15th and 16th centuries. Modern Galleons with two masts, also popular in pirate stories, appeared in the 17th century, allowing for greater speed and maneuverability. However, trade routes required increasingly greater efficiency, so by the 19th century, large multi-masted vessels developed, eventually also equipped with an auxiliary steam engine. The development of sailing is currently dated to at least 8000 BC, but this boundary is constantly shifting with new discoveries. Originally, human settlements were established mainly on larger rivers or the sea, so the sail was probably invented long before the… wheel (if we trust the officially accepted version of the history of civilization, because this one is also slowly changing and extending).

Finally, a curiosity: who was the first to "discover" America?

Of course…the Viking Leif Eriksson (early 11th century).

A previously undiscovered wreck has been found outside of Fjällbacka on the Swedish west coast. Analysis of wood samples shows that it is the oldest shipwreck ever found in the province of Bohuslän. This is also one of the oldest cogs that has yet to be found in Europe.

"The wreck is made from oaks cut between 1233 and 1240, so nearly 800 years ago," says Staffan von Arbin, a maritime archaeologist at the University of Gothenburg.