'Spectacular' shipwreck found with underwater time capsule of untouched cargo: 'Amazing find'

The shipwreck's cargo is "unlike anything ever previously found in shipwrecks in Northern Europe," said Hanna Geiran, director of the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage.

The organization announced the discovery earlier in June. The shipwreck was found by Espen Saastad, a watch designer who also operates a small remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and survey company.

Geiran told Fox News Digital it's generally rare to find such well-preserved cargo from 18th-century ships.

"Rows of crates have also been discovered but have not yet been examined," she said.

The cargo is "very well-preserved, considering how old it is," Geiran added, though modern trawlers have damaged some parts of the wreck.

Researchers are still unsure where the ship sailed from or where it was heading, but Geiran said small clues recovered from the wreck may lead them to the answer.

"One very interesting clue is a brick from the ship's galley that bears the stamp of Lübecker Ratsziegelei, a brickworks in Lübeck that was in operation from the 15th century until 1772."

While researchers cannot estimate the cargo's original value, Geiran said the porcelain was considered a luxury commodity in the mid-18th century, though it had become increasingly accessible to Europe's bourgeoisie.

Today, she said, the wreck's greatest value lies in its status as a protected cultural monument rather than its monetary worth.

Geiran added that researchers are "very excited" about future investigations and whether the wreck still holds additional artifacts.

"In the pictures from the seabed, for example, we can glimpse a spectacular lotus plant in porcelain," she said.