History

When the archaeological evidence we had collected seemed sufficient, I tried to identify the mysterious "Wreck of Cape Arkona".
Research began in the Danish National Archives in Copenhagen. Here, a note on the list of the Danish fleet in 1719 mentioned the small Frigate Mynden (Greyhound), which sank in 1718 off the isle of Rügen.

The Ship's size as well as the number of guns mentioned in the list were almost identical with the archaeological evidence. A tree-ring sample taken from firewood from the excavated galley gave autumn 1718 as date of cutting. As a result the ship was presumed to have sunk either in autumn/ winter 1718 or spring 1719.

An extensive search in the archives produced several documents on the sinking of the frigate, among which were a detailed description of the accident, reports on salvage attempts and the documentation of the following trial in the admiralty court.
A list of all salvaged material and a crew list proved particularly helpful for the further interpretation of the wreck.
The final proof for the identification of the wreck was found in logbook excerpts, written by the ship's captain. Here the exact location of the wreck was mentioned several times.

The History of the frigate Mynden

Mynden was built in 1679 in Copenhagen by the Dutch shipwright Thijs Hermansen v. d. Burgh. After several longer journeys in the years 1680-88, where she acted mainly as a convoy escort, the frigate was used as guard ship on the Roads of Copenhagen. Another task was to recruit new sailors for the Danish navy and bring them to the capital.
During the Great Nordic War (1700-1720) Mynden was reactivated as warship. In 1716 the frigate took part in the battle of Dynekilen in a squadron under the command of the infamous Captain Tordenskjold.
In 1718 Lieutenant Hans Friedrich Dreeßen became captain of the frigate. During the whole year the ship escorted convoys in the Baltic Sea.

In a letter to the admiralty in Copenhagen Dreeßen describes the last voyage of the Mynden:
In November 1718 the frigate was sent to the German town Lübeck, to escort the fluit Der Herbst, loaded with cargo for the Danish navy, to Copenhagen. When the convoy left Travemünde on November 17th, it consisted of six ships: Mynden, Der Herbst and four smaller vessels. The fleet tried to sail around the island of Møn, but strong winds from the Northwest made the task almost impossible, especially for the smaller vessels in the convoy. Finally Dreeßen decided to anchor in the Bay of Prora on the island of Rügen and wait for better winds. When dusk was falling, he noticed that the slow cargo vessels couldn't follow the frigate. Fearing to loose his convoy he changed his decision and headed for the Bay of Tromp.
On November 18th, 3:30 PM Dreeßen gave order to anchor in the Bay, when the frigate ran aground on the Arkona reef. Despite all efforts to hold her afloat, Mynden sank within 10 minutes. 13 man drowned, the remainder of the crew of 55 were rescued by local fishermen.

As the masts of the ship were still visible, salvage work began on November 19th. A list of all the recovered material was enclosed in the letter.
In December 1718 all salvage attempts were given up, and the crew was sent back to Copenhagen.

A reconstruction of the Mynden?

An analysis of the archaeological as well as the historical sources allows to make statements concerning the reconstruction of the frigate.
Mynden was a slender small Frigate with a length of 25,6 m and a width of 6,46 m. The Depth in hold was 3,13 m.
The list of salvaged goods shows that she had a ship rig.

As no draughts of Mynden survive, a reconstruction above the waterline has to remain speculation. Contemporary illustrations of other small frigates show that guns were placed on the upper deck. There were no other decks. galley and storerooms were simple wooden constructions in the hold. The forecastle was very low or did not exist. The quarter deck was also fairly low. The frigate may have been equipped with oars, although there is no archaeological proof for this.

The modern replica of the Russian frigate Shtandart from 1703 has almost the same dimensions as Mynden and might help to imagine what the small Danish frigate looked like.