A WARSHIP sunk by Nelson more than 200 years ago has been found days before a building project threatened to bury it forever.
The lost vessel was discovered at the bottom of Copenhagen harbour by gobsmacked marine archaeologists.
Experts are now in a race against time, delicately sifting through thick sediment to unearth the 19th century wreckage.
This is because the construction of a new housing development off the coast of Denmark is set to get underway in the coming weeks.
Denmark’s Viking Ship Museum announced the exciting news on Thursday – exactly 225 years after the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801.
In the historic battle, Nelson and the British fleet defeated Denmark’s inferior navy as it formed a protective blockade outside the harbour.
Thousands were killed and wounded during the brutal clash, considered one of Nelson’s greatest victories.
At the centre of the fighting was a Danish flagship – the Dannebroge.
Commanded by Commodore Olfert Fischer, the 157ft vessel was Nelson’s main target.
The ship came under extreme bombardment with cannon fire ripping through its structure.
The museum’s head of maritime archaeology, Morten Johansen, said: “It was a nightmare to be on board one of these ships.
“When a cannonball hits a ship, it’s not the cannonball that does the most damage to the crew, it’s wooden splinters flying everywhere, very much like grenade debris.
In the aftermath, Nelson offered a truce and a ceasefire was agreed with Denmark’s Crown Prince.
As for the stricken Dannebroge, it slowly drifted northwards before records say it exploded with a deafening roar.
Fast forward to today and marine archaeologists have found tens of precious artefacts.
These include two cannonballs, different bits of uniform and even part of a sailor’s jaw.
Archaeologists hope this epic discovery will help them reexamine Scandinavian history – potentially uncovering the personal stories of those who went into battle that day.
“A great deal has been written about the battle by very enthusiastic spectators, but we actually don’t know how it was to be onboard a ship being shot to pieces by English warships,” Johansen said.
“Some of that story we can probably learn from seeing the wreck.”
However, they don’t have long to do so.
The crash site is set to be taken over by construction work for Lynetteholm.
This megaproject will build a new housing district in the middle of Copenhagen harbour, expected to be completed by 2070.
