Workers uncover centuries-old shipwreck on German North Sea island

Construction workers laying power cables on the German North Sea island of Norderney have uncovered the remains of a wooden ship believed to date back to the 17th or 18th century, grid operator Amprion said on Wednesday.

The wreck was discovered during work linked to an offshore energy project in the North Sea, prompting a temporary halt to construction, the company said.

The vessel is believed to have been a Dutch wooden ship about 15 metres long and 5 metres wide, according to archaeologists.

"The find is particularly exciting because only a few shipwrecks from this period have been found and documented along the coast of Lower Saxony," Sonja König, head of the archaeological service of the East Frisian Landscape, said in a statement.

Archaeologists plan to examine the wreck in more detail.

The parts of the wreck that were visible on the surface had already been recovered and removed, an Amprion spokesman told dpa on Wednesday evening.

More remains are believed to be buried beneath the sand and will be left in place.