Curious Historian

By | June 7, 2019

On June 19, 2011, Peter Lindberg and Dennis Asberg, members of the deep-sea exploration team called Ocean-X, discovered a strange circular object at the bottom of the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Sweden. Since then, numerous theories have been posed regarding its origin, including the suggestion that it might be the location of the lost city of Atlantis. However, the most popular theory was that this object, which came to be known as the Baltic Sea Anomaly, was of an extraterrestrial nature.

The rumors of it alleged extraterrestrial nature were sparked by the unusual appearance of the object, which bore a striking resemblance to the Millennium Falcon in the Star Wars franchise. The theory was fueled by the divers’ claims that their electrical equipment began to fail whenever they came within 200 meters of the object. The appearance of a trail near the object, such as one which might be formed during a crash landing, further solidified the theory that the Ocean-X team had discovered the wreckage of an alien spacecraft. 

After the discovery, Lindberg and Asberg immediately set out to capitalize on the mysterious nature of the object by creating a documentary regarding the anomaly. Lindberg himself suggested the connection to Atlantis, stating that if it turned out to be the location of the lost city, it would be “quite amazing.” He also described the object as having “strange stair formations...constructed tens of thousands of years ago before the Ice Age.” While Lindberg acknowledged that the object could be a natural formation, possibly a meteorite, he also pointed out its distinctly artificial features, such as the apparent staircase and circular hole surrounded by a square frame.

An analysis of samples from the object, however, suggested otherwise. Volker Bruchert, associate professor of geology at Stockholm University, tested one sample which he determined to be volcanic rock, likely formed during the Ice Age. Other samples turned out to be granites and sandstone typical of a glacial basin. Bruchert’s conclusion was that the object was formed by glacial ice thousands of years ago with the isolated sample of basalt having been transported from another location by the glacier.

Lindberg and Asberg, however, clung to the theory that the formation was artificial in origin, believing that the samples that collected concealed something buried beneath the surface. They planned to go back and collect more samples but were unable to obtain enough funding to finance the expedition. The natural explanation offered by Bruchert caused the media to lose interest in the story and the extraterrestrial theories regarding the Baltic Sea Anomaly were considered to have been debunked.

Still, there are those who, like Linberg and Asberg, consider the mystery of the Baltic Sea Anomaly to be unsolved. While many still consider the possibility that it was formed by a wrecked spacecraft, others pose different explanations. One explanation has the formation being the remnants of an underwater Nazi structure designed to disrupt the enemy communications. This theory would explain the claims of equipment failure made by the crew of Ocean-X. However, without further exploration and testing, there is no way to know for sure if any of these theories have merit. 

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