Postmedieval shipwrecks: reflections on maritime archaeology and historical archaeology with examples from the Baltic Sea That the brackish water of the Baltic Sea provides ideal conditions for preservation of organic material is a well-known fact. With this in mind it is a bit surprising just how little archaeological efforts that has been put into surveying these wrecks. The majority of these remains date to the early modern period. The study of these remains are thus associated with the assets as well as problems associated with historical archaeology. This paper reviews some of the research efforts carried out on wrecks in the past with focus on the relationship between history and archaeology. It is argued that the often claimed unique archaeological potential of the Baltic wrecks, tend to become overshadowed by narratives sprung out of written sources. The paper ends with a couple of examples of discussions that are only possible to raise from well-preserved shipwrecks. Inspired by phenomenology and the current research on historical buildings it is argued that ‘the lived experience’ is a possible way forward to raise other questions and to highlight other aspects of the past. The examples discussed are the everyday environment onboard fluits, a very common type of merchant ship, and the famous naval ship Svärdet that went down during a fierce battle in 1676.