Swede divers found 100-year-old wine bottles

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YEREVAN, OCTOBER 3, ARMENPRESS: Swedish divers have revealed a discovery of 21 wine bottles retrieved from the wreck of the SS Astrid, a Swedish ship that was gunned down by a German U-Boat in 1916, reports Armenpress citing The Local Sweden News. The loot was discovered by the Swedish treasure hunting group Ocean X in late July this year, following a careful consultation of maps that suggested Astrid's position on the bottom of the Balyic seaoff Sweden's east coast.When divers investigated the wreck, they were amazed to find a number of bottles, some of which had exploded but many of which were still intact. ''Finding a 100-year-old bottle in the Baltic sea? You can imagine how they felt! They were really excited,'' explained Magnus Egler, spokesman of the Ocean X team, to The Local.The bottles, from Swedish company Grönstedt, were being shipped from Sweden to Finland and then most likely on towards Russia, originally hailing from the Champagne region in France.But the team kept the find under close wraps at first, choosing not to spill the beans about the wine until now. ''We didn't say anything about it at first, we kept it a secret as we’re in the process of making a documentary, but we’re proud to announce it now,'' he said.However, the documentary will cover a lot more than just the story of the wine, as it was also Ocean X which made another of this year’s biggest underwater finds. ''These guys are professional treasure hunters and have found a load of things - this is the team that found the so-called Millennium Falcon that everyone’s been talking about," Egler said, referring to a mystery shaped object also in the Baltic sea that some speculators have likened to the spaceship from Star Wars. ''But nothing they've found has been as beautiful as Astrid. The figurehead on the front of the ship is stunning,'' Egler said.Meanwhile, the wine bottles have been sent to Londonfor analysis where a wine expert has had a taste and found out that no salt water has seeped into the bottle. There are even talks about taking an extract and making a new blend.The bottles are planned to be auctioned off at prestigious auction house Christie’s in London.As for the Ocean X team, the divers are already in plans to investigate the Astrid again after the winter to get further samples from the wreck, and to continue to hunt for more treasure.

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