Specific skeletal injuries observed on the human skeletal remains from the Swedish seventeenth century man-of-war,Kronan

Abstract

This paper considers human skeletal material originating from the Royal warship Kronan, which capsized, exploded and sank in the Baltic on 1 June 1676, before the beginning of an action between the Swedish and the allied Danish-Dutch fleet. The excavations started in 1981 and are still going on. A remarkable number of what seem to be cut and blow marks has been noted. The marks show no signs of healing and are similar to injuries made by bladed weapons or, alternatively, sharp instruments. They are found on cranial as well as on all kinds of post-cranial elements. The injuries are puzzling since, according to contemporary sources as well as today's historians, Kronan had not before been involved in a man against man battle before the disaster and she sank before being engaged in any kind of battle. Further, nothing is mentioned in the literature about having sick and/or injured persons on board. The forensic experts as well as the experts in arms whom I have consulted in this matter, are convinced that injuries like these can not have been caused by the explosion. The presence of the injuries offers a problem which is urgent to solve. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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