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The Black Sea maritime archeology project indicates that the intact sinking was discovered at a depth of more than one mile, where the scarcity of oxygen has preserved the ancient ship.
MAP / EEF Expeditions in the Black Sea
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MAP / EEF Expeditions in the Black Sea
The Black Sea maritime archeology project indicates that the intact sinking was discovered at a depth of more than one mile, where the scarcity of oxygen has preserved the ancient ship.
MAP / EEF Expeditions in the Black Sea
At more than one kilometer below the surface of the Black Sea, plunged into darkness, an ancient Greek ship has remained invisible for millennia – until the project of maritime archeology of the Black Sea landed on his grave grave last year.
The team announced the discovery on Tuesday, saying its discovery had been "confirmed as the oldest intact and still known shipwreck of humanity". Dating from the radiocarbon, about 400 BC AD, the merchant ship floated the waves in the time of Plato and Sophocles, when the ancient states of ancient Greece had scattered settlements all around the Black Sea.
Since then, its depth has more than doubled the height of the tallest skyscraper in the world. It is difficult to find oxygen in water as deep as this, as well as organic processes that promote decomposition. This left the ship virtually uninterrupted until the research team discovered it – along with dozens of other shipwrecks – during a 800-km2 study of the seabed.
"I never would have thought possible an intact ship of the classic world, resting in more than 2 km of water," said in a statement Jon Adams, professor of archeology at the university from Southampton and the group's lead investigator. published Tuesday. "This will change our understanding of shipbuilding and navigation in the ancient world."
For an example of the value of the ship, the team reported a very different type of ship: pottery. The group said the ships whose model had been found last year were found only in works such as the Siren Vase, an artifact dating back several decades earlier than the ship.
The recently discovered sinking reveals similar details to the ship on this famous vase of ancient Greece dating from the fifth century BC. and represents Ulysses attached to the mast to brave the sirens.
Universal Pictures Group / Getty Images
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Universal Pictures Group / Getty Images
The recently discovered sinking reveals similar details to the ship on this famous vase of ancient Greece dating from the fifth century BC. and represents Ulysses attached to the mast to brave the sirens.
Universal Pictures Group / Getty Images
The vase represents a scene of L & # 39; Odyssey, in which Ulysses is attached to the mast while he passes the deadly sirens. Now, according to MAP, they know that this also represents a representation of real merchant ships used at about the same time as their discovery.
"It's like another world," said Helen Farr, a member of the expedition, to the BBC. "That's when the ROV [remote operated vehicle] go down into the water column and you see this ship appear in the light of the light so well preserved that one has the impression of going back in time. "
But ancient Greece is not the only time gone by to reveal itself under the waves.
In three years of research on the Black Sea, the group claims to have discovered more than 60 sunken ships – from old boats like the one announced on Tuesday to more modern ships. This includes a fleet of 17th century raids launched by the Cossacks, a people that had already settled north of the Black Sea near the border between Russia and modern Ukraine.
The team is releasing a documentary about its findings Tuesday at the British Museum, offering insights into what archeologist Fredrik Hiebert has described as "a museum of an incredible wealth of human history."
"This wreckage shows the unprecedented potential of preserving the Black Sea, an essential crossroads of the world's cultures for thousands of years," he told National Geographic. "It's an amazing find."
