Archaeologists uncover 40 shipwrecks on the bottom of the Black Sea

Archaeological expedition to the bottom of the Black Sea documented numerous ancient shipwrecks. The wrecks date from Byzantine to Ottoman period.

Byzantine wreckage on the bottom of the Black Sea (by International Business Times)
Byzantine wreckage on the bottom of the Black Sea (by International Business Times)

Some of the wrecks documented by the Black Sea Maritime Archaeological Project were previously unknown. The aim of the project was to survey the Black Sea near Bulgaria to understand how water rose there and covered ancient lands a the end of the last Ice Age. The primary focus of this project is to carry out geophysical surveys to detect former land surfaces buried below the current sea bed, take core samples and characterise and date them, and create a palaeo-environmental reconstruction of Black Sea prehistory.

Ottoman wreckage (by International Business Times)
Ottoman wreckage (by International Business Times)

The team is equipped with some of the most advanced technologies in the world for underwater archaeology, including two sophisticated Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) – one of which has set new records for depth by going down to 1800 metres and sustained speed of over 6 knots. The shipwrecks, dating to Byzantine, Medieval and Ottoman periods, were found at depths below 150 metres and documented by 3D techniques.

Medieval shipwreck (by International Business Times)
Medieval shipwreck (by International Business Times)

(after International Business Times)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.