Medieval Shipwreck Hauled from the Deep

The boat was likely deliberately sunk by maritime engineers more than 600 years ago in an effort to alter the flow of the Ijssel River, an offshoot of the mighty Rhine River that flows through six European countries. The trading ship sailed at a time when the Hanseatic League, a group of guilds that fostered trade across Europe, dominated the seas. The boat was first discovered in 2012 at the river bottom during efforts to widen the flow of the Ijssel River.