European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 7, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Empty gun carriages line deck on the a 16thcentury swedish warship now being ill fated voyage of 1628 National geographic glory restored to sunken swedish warship by Robert Poole National geographic after More than 300 years of neglect and the swedish warship Vasa is to something approaching her former the with an inexperienced Crew and insufficient sunk by an untimely gust of wind on her Maiden voyage in will soon make her final journey to a new museum that will be the Centrepiece of Stockholm it is the same Harbor where the Vasa was first where she slept forgotten through the Long where she was rediscovered and and where the painstaking work of restoration began More than 20 years in those two experts in Stockholm have been hard at work on the treating her water logged timbers with a special preservative of polyethylene glycol and the idea was to impregnate the ships damaged Wood with the plastic like gel that would keep her from collapsing after prolonged expo sure to the 20year treatment of the 200 Foo Long ship says la Sake director of the Vasa its been Karning we can see that she reacts just the Way it was hoped she some of the timbers Are cracked and but the damage is not he when the preservation process began in the museum employed two men to Spray the Vasas Hull by they would spend All Day walking around the great ship with a on a Good the workers could make it Ocean Dahal times around the ton it was a very slow process and very expend according to with the museum improved the Auto Matic operating like the jets of a were they would Bathe the Vasa with Chemi cals at regular this heavy spraying continued until when workers began heating the ships Wood to dry out the excess now the project is in a polishing off in which the surface of the ship is coated with several thin layers of plastic to Seal out moisture and bacteria that could damage the the whole pioneered for the has been of great Aid to other which have sent their own archaeological teams to Many of the techniques used for preserving the Vasa will help restore a 16thcentury the Mary Only recently recovered from British in addition to preserving the Vasas Tim swedish experts have spent years sorting through some pieces of clothing and other items found in or around the structural artefacts have been restored and returned to their appointed places on this construction begins on her new a special museum scheduled for completion in until visitors Are Welcome at the temporary my a drab Metal building on the City you can come Here and look at what we Karning but its a very narrow and you never get a very Good look Over the whole you have to go around and see it piece by and add up the parts in your the new museum is designed so that one can see the whole ship at then approach for closer in August 1985 visitors keep More than each to the Vasas ramshackle temporary quart making it the most popular tourist attraction in one recent american Rock Singer Doug was inspired to compose and record a song called the Ballad of most people Are fascinated by says be cause it gives them a Chance to get their imaginations Why did people build a ship like this How did they build such a Large ship with simple tools what kind of society produced a War machine like this Many of those visitors often linger to View the simple objects found with the such artefacts Are displayed in a building adjacent to the Vasas Here one sees a Gold ring that belonged to one of the there a Woolen Cap stashed in a Carpen ters there a stoneware Tankard and a Clay smok ing awaiting someones but perhaps most moving is a single leather found on the Bones of a Seaman crushed beneath a visitor after visitor will Stop and stare in silence at that Black trying to make some connection with the lost Sailor who wore it on the Vasas first and Only such workaday objects have much to do with the old ships great says Karning Here you find the belongings of the simple what you have in the other museums Are mainly the Beautiful the expensive things belonging to the Church or the noblemen and the people you meet Here Are the very poor Guys who were impressed and forced on the Vasa is a Mirror of the society that produced the stars and stripes Page 13