The work is ongoing on Sadama street in the harbor area of Tallinn – Sadam being the Estonian word for harbor – and, while archaeologist Rivo Bernotas said, it is too early to date the remains more precisely at this stage, they are no more recent than the second half of the 17th century, given its location in relation to the known shoreline in previous ages.

Work is still underway to clear the wreck.

AS Merko Ehitus Eesti, building company working on the construction site – the Sadama 4 project, a hotel and office building, and the City of Tallinn itself, were keen to stress to Postimees that the boat's discovery will not hold up the ongoing Old City Harbor tram extension, one of the major projects which have ground parts of central Tallinn road traffic almost to a halt since the springtime.

Construction work in Tallinn often yields such finds; a late-medieval-era ship, uncovered last year, close by the location of the current find, was initially thought to be of a variety known as a cog, but has continued to throw up surprises about boatbuilding and design practices of that time.

Much of the harbor area lies on reclaimed land, and shipwrecks from a variety of eras were often covered over by this, having sunk or been abandoned close in to shore.

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