A nearly intact medieval shipwreck has been hauled from the frigid waters of a Dutch river. 
 
 The boat was likely deliberately sunk by maritime engineers more than 600 years ago in an effort to alter the flow of the Ijssel River, an offshoot of the mighty Rhine River that flows through six European countries. The trading ship sailed at a time when the Hanseatic League, a group of guilds that fostered trade across Europe, dominated the seas. 
 
 "The fact that we were able to raise the Ijssel cog [a type of wooden vessel] in its entirety and in one attempt is a fantastic achievement by the entire team," lead maritime archaeologist Wouter Waldus said in a statement. "The shipwreck can become a symbol of our rich maritime history, and I fully expect many people, both young and old, to be amazed by and start enjoying this ship from the Hanseatic period's fascinating story." [See Images of the Medieval Trading Ship and Reconstruction] 
 
 Surprise discovery 
 
 The boat was first discovered in 2012 at the river bottom during efforts to widen the flow of the Ijssel River. The massive ship was lying perpendicular to the river flow, along with a medieval barge and a punt, a specialized ship designed for navigating river deltas. 
 
 Over the course of the next three years, maritime archaeologists put in place a painstaking, meticulous plan to recover the ancient seafaring vessel. First, the team built a platform and crane on the river, then built a protective frame around the ship to lift it out of the water. After suctioning gunk from the area inside the frame, the archeological team created 3D images of the boat underwater. Only then were the team members ready to carefully lift the boat out of the water, using a basketlike structure made of straps, crossbeams and jacks. Each strap had its own motorized control to allow perfectly precise maneuvering in response to the forces experienced in the ship. 
 
 The wooden, flat-bottomed ship was first discovered in 2012 while a national organization was carrying out investigations to preserve water safety in the Dutch river. Credit: Rijkswaterstaat, the Netherlands "This was an incredibly involved operation and was almost as impressive as the cog itself. The raising of the 20-meter-long [65 feet] ship was complex, in the middle of the river, near the navigation channel. Also, as a result of the fact, three different specializations had to work together here: an archaeological research team, divers and storage specialists," said Ben Broens, an official with the Rijkswaterstaat, a water management bureau in the Dutch government, which helped oversee the salvage operation. 
 
 Medieval cog 
 
 It turned out the 55-ton (50 tonnes) ship was a medieval cog, a type of wooden vessel with a steep, straight ship prow and deck beams that stick out from the boat's skin. Cogs were typically used in the late medieval period on international trade voyages. Many of the structural support elements, such as nails, were made of metal, meaning it was sturdier, and therefore easier to take out of the water without falling apart. 
 
 The team believes the ancient seafaring vessel was likely sunk deliberately. It was placed perpendicular in the stream of the river. By looking at medieval maps and historical documents and recreating the historical path of the river, the team found the ship was sunk at a time when silt was building up, creating huge sandbanks along the Ijssel River. Those sandbanks would have prevented ships from docking properly, so the ship, along with the barge and punt, were likely sent to the bottom of the river in a bid to narrow the river flow or divert it in a way that would improve sea traffic. 
 
 Though the ship was stripped of much of its original finery, the team did find an intact brick oven, as well as gorgeous glazed tiles, in the galley area of the ship. 
 
 Now that the ship is safely out of the water, the team will transport it inside its custom-made frame to a preservation facility in Leylstad, the Netherlands. There, it will undergo a painstaking process of drying out, which could take another three years. If all goes well, the Ijssel Cog will be placed on display in a museum. But if the ship can't be dried out safely, it will be studied thoroughly before being destroyed. 
 
 Follow Tia Ghose on Twitterand Google+. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science. ||||| A medieval 20 meter long and 50 ton heavy cargo ship was slowly, but steadily lifted out of the IJssel near Kampen on Wednesday. The ship's emergence from the water was met wit loud applause from about a thousand spectators who came to watch the operation. Thousands more followed the progress via livestream, Dutch newspaper AD reports. The operation to lift the wreck out of the water started around 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday. The ship was lifted in its entirety with a new technique involving hanging it in a basket of bonds and joists, according to the newspaper. Once above the water, the ship - which is still intact for the most part - was placed on a pontoon. A special frame is being built around the ship, after which it will be transported to Lelystad. The shipwreck was discovered in the summer of 2011. It is believed that the ship was sunk deliberately some 600 years ago to increase the water level in an adjacent fairway. A spokesperson for the Rijkswaterstaat called it an historical event. "This is an important moment in maritime history", the spokesperson said to the newspaper. Archaeologists and historians have high expectations on what can be learned from this mostly intact medieval ship.
– A medieval ship believed to have been sunk deliberately some 600 years ago was pulled nearly intact from a Dutch River on Feb. 10, the NL Times reports. It's a "fantastic achievement," the project lead tells Live Science, which was the culmination of three years of meticulous planning, including building a platform and a crane and suctioning debris from the ship's frame. "The shipwreck can become a symbol of our rich maritime history, and I fully expect many people, both young and old, to be amazed by and start enjoying this ship," he says. The 65-foot, 55-ton ship was discovered in 2012 during efforts to widen the flow of the Ijssel River. It is a ship known as a cog, which were used for international trade voyages in the late medieval period, per Live Science. While the vessel was stripped down before it was sunk, researchers did find a brick oven and glazed tiles in its galley. A barge and punt (a small boat) of the same period also were found on the riverbed. Researchers believe the watercraft were sunk purposely to divert the flow of the river and improve sea traffic. Now, the ship will be transported to a preservation facility in Leylstad, where it may take as long as three years to dry out. The hope is to eventually put the ship in a museum. But there is a possibility that the drying process won't work, in which case, Live Science notes, it will be studied then destroyed. (This shipwreck yielded a condiment once popular in the Roman empire.)