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Archaeology & History

60 ancient shipwrecks found in the Black Sea

By T.K. Randall
September 19, 2017 · Comment icon 10 comments

Roman vessels were among the wrecks found on the sea floor. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 2.0 twbuckner
Marine archaeologists unexpectedly stumbled across a goldmine of shipwrecks during a recent expedition.
The wrecks, which include vessels from the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires, were spotted by researchers who had been studying the effects of climate change along the coast of Bulgaria.

"Some of the ships we discovered had only been seen on murals and mosaics until this moment," said Black Sea Maritime Archaeological Project CEO Ed Parker. "There's one medieval trading vessel where the towers on the bow and stern are pretty much still there."
"It's as if you are looking at a ship in a movie, with ropes still on the deck and carvings in the wood."

It is thought that the environment of the Black Sea, which is unable to support the types of organisms that typically feed on wooden shipwrecks, has played a major role in the preservation of the vessels.

Source: Sofia Globe | Comments (10)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #1 Posted by Stiff 7 years ago
Brilliant. I'm looking forward to any pictures that may surface from this.
Comment icon #2 Posted by Merc14 7 years ago
I wonder why so many ships of different eras are located in that spot?  
Comment icon #3 Posted by Stiff 7 years ago
I did wonder the same myself and thought that it can't be coincidence? I'm pretty sure they will think the same thing too and it'll be investigated. (I hope!) 
Comment icon #4 Posted by Merc14 7 years ago
Probably some kind of anchorage or harbor but they are keeping location a secret to protect the site.
Comment icon #5 Posted by Stiff 7 years ago
Hmm. I was thinking it would be a little further out or it would have already been explored/discovered by now, but yes, that would be a strong possibility and make perfect sense.
Comment icon #6 Posted by Merc14 7 years ago
That's why I was thinking an anchorage outside a harbor, especially sine they were study climate change and how it effects population centers of the Black Sea but I am purely speculating and could be completely wrong.  
Comment icon #7 Posted by Stiff 7 years ago
There's a few pictures and a video in this link. I tried to judge how far from the shoreline it is from the video clips but I guess that's probably not guaranteed to be where the wrecks are  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4898204/Experts-graveyard-60-preserved-ancient-shipwrecks.html
Comment icon #8 Posted by Merc14 7 years ago
Chart of Black Sea depths o coast of Bulgaria.  Not an anchorage or harbor at those depths.  
Comment icon #9 Posted by paperdyer 7 years ago
Merc - Maybe it was a harbor or anchorage spot.  They did what they had to do for the times they lived in.  Maybe it's the Black Sea's version of the Bermuda Triangle.Since the wood is preserved, I guess we'll find out more later.
Comment icon #10 Posted by Parsec 7 years ago
On a side not, looking at the map, I just remembered how cool would it be sailing from Greece through the Dardanelles, Istanbul, around the Black sea and back.  Well, it would basically be following the Argonauts's journey.


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