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Deepwater Archaeology of the Black Sea : The 2000 Season at Sinop, Turkey

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Author

  • Robert Ballard
  • Fred Hiebert
  • Dwight Coleman
  • Cheryl Ward
  • Jennifer Smith
  • Kathryn Willis
  • Brendan Foley
  • Katherine Croff
  • Candace Major
  • Francesco Torre

Summary, in English

In 2000, a major expedition for deepwater archaeology was conducted by the Institute for Exploration in the Black Sea along the northwestern coast of Turkey from the Bosporus to the Turkish seaport of Sinop. A complementary land-based expedition will be reported upon elsewhere. The 2000 underwater expedition had three research objectives: to search for evidence of human habitation prior to major flooding of the Black Sea that researchers predicted occurred some 7,500 years ago; to investigate a deepwater shipping route; and to search for ancient wooden ships in the sea's anoxic bottom waters. Research methods included the use of a phased-array side-scan sonar, a towed imaging sled, and a small remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to collect deepsea survey data. Three shipwrecks and a probable site reflecting human habitation prior to the proposed flooding event were located at depths around 100m. One additional shipwreck was found within the anoxic layer at a depth of 324m. The ship found within the anoxic layer was intact, in a high state of preservation, and dated to the Byzantine period of 450 A.D.

Publishing year

2001-10

Language

English

Pages

607-623

Publication/Series

American Journal of Archaeology

Volume

105

Issue

4

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Topic

  • Archaeology

Keywords

  • shipwrecks
  • deep water
  • Black Sea
  • Remotely Operated Vehicle
  • deep submergence

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0002-9114