Elleda Wilson: Skeletal surprise
Apr. 13—The grand Swedish warship Vasa's 1628 awful demise occurred almost immediately after her maiden voyage began, according to Britannica.com. She was less than 400 feet from land when she keeled over and sank in the Baltic Sea in front of thousands of witnesses.
Thirty skeletons were found when she was raised in 1961, all of which were presumed to be male. But not so fast. Diver.net reports that one of those skeletons, "G," has turned out to be female, first ascertained by the shape of her pelvis. But thanks to a new DNA testing method, developed by the U.S. Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory in Delaware, "G" has proved to definitely be a she.
"We have known that there were women onboard Vasa when it sank, and now we have received confirmation that they are among the remains," Anna Maria Forssberg of the Vasa Museum said. "I am currently researching the wives of seamen, so for me this is especially exciting. They are often forgotten, even though they played an important role for the navy."(Photo: Vasa Museum)
