Viking ship Heimlosa Rus

The Lapuri wreck was discovered by sport diver Manu Toronen in 1976. It is situated at a depth of 6 m, near the Lapuri island, in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland. Its exact age is uncertain but marine-archaeological diving has revealed a construction similar to a Viking ship. It is, so far, regarded as the only Viking Age ship find made in the Gulf of Finland. The find spot suggests that the ship was on the eastern Viking route when it sunk. This, together with the fact that the wreck is very well preserved, makes it a unique find. The ship is built of oak.

An archaeological inventory of the Lapuri island gave no proof of ancient settlements on, or in, the vicinity of the island. However, the inventory found some old cairns, working as seamarks, which verify that the area has long been a fairway.

The whole keel, with most of the frames, and one stem were found. In 1993, when the stone ballast was removed from the hull, part of the keelson showed to be in place. Amidships the starboard side was preserved under the bottom sediment and 6 hull planks up to the railing were uncovered. The broadest plank is 55 cm wide. Most of the planks are only 1.5 cm thick which indicates skilful boat-building technique. The relatively well preserved hull has made it possible to reconstruct the ship.

During 1991-93 a full-scale replica Rus of the Lapuri wreck was built. Unfortunately in summer 1994 the ship got wrecked near the Latvian coast. In winter 1995-96 a new replica was built. The new ship was named Heimlosa Rus and it was launched on July 10, 1996. The ship is 12 meters long and 3 meters wide.