Tag: Underwater archaeology

Pavlopetri, ‘the city beneath the waves’ to surface in BBC Two documentary

The curvature of the sea surface and the nearby walls is of course caused by the "fish-eye" lens Discovered over 40 years ago just off the coast of Greece, Pavlopetri is the oldest submerged city in the world and the only sunken city in Greece that predates the writing of Plato’s Atlantis myth.

Now, for ‘Pavlopetri, The City Beneath the Waves’, BBC Two is to follow the team of experts excavating the submerged site.

“The future of archaeology is under the water and we are now armed with the technology to unlock the countless fascinating secrets the sea is yet to yield up to us, says BBCTwo’s Janice Hadlow.

The documentary is planned to air next year, and will make extensiveuse of CGI (3D computer generated images) to show for the first time in 3,500 years, how the mighty city of Pavlopetri now five metres below the sea level must have once looked.

The underwater city of Pavlopetriwas discovered in 1967, off the coast of southern Laconia in Greece. It is about 5000 years old.

It is believed that the ancient town sank around 1000 BC yet it remains unknown what caused this. Possibilities include sea level changes, earthquakes, or a tsunami.

So far, evidence for inhabitation during the late Bronze Age, middle Minoan and Mycenaean periods has been found at the 30,000 square meters archaeological site.

Pavlopetri is unique in having an almost complete town plan, including streets, courtyards, more than 15 buildings, two chamber tombs and at least 37 cist graves.

Although eroded over the centuries, the town layout never built over or disrupted by agriculture is as it was thousands of years ago.

It is believed that the ancient town sank at the end of the Mycenaean period, around 1000 BC yet it remains unknown what caused this. Possibilities include sea level changes, earthquakes, or a tsunami.

‘Pavlopetri The City Beneath the Waves’ will show the archaeology team using the latest in cutting-edge science and technology to prise age-old secrets from the complex of streets and stone buildingsthat wasmapped in last year’s survey. (Video from the 2009 Pavlopetri Expedition.)

The team is led by the University of Nottingham’s Dr Jon Henderson. Working alongside the underwater archaeologist on this ground-breaking project will be Nic Flemming, the man whose hunch led to the intriguing discovery of Pavlopetri in 1967, and teams from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and the Australian Centre for Field Robotics.

Underwater Archaeology: Diving the Maya Underworld

Videographer Marty O'Farrell captures divers taking a core sample from the bottom of pool 6. Steering clear of crocodiles and navigating around massive submerged trees, a team of divers started mapping some of the 25 freshwater pools of Cara Blanca, Belize, which were of importance to the ancient Maya civilisation.

So far, the divers found fossilized animal remains, bits of pottery and in the largest pool explored an enormous underwater cave.

The underwater archaeology project, led by University of Illinois anthropology professor Lisa Lucero, was the first of what the professor hopes will be a series of dives into the pools of the southern Maya lowlands in central Belize.

The divers so far have explored eight of the 25 known pools of Cara Blanca, with the volunteer divers returning this summer to assess whether archaeological excavation is even possible at the bottom of the pools, some of which are more than 60 meters deep.

They could have been making offerings to the rain god and other supernatural forces to bring an end to the drought

“We don’t know if it’s going to be feasible to conduct archaeology 200 feet below the surface,” Lucero said. “But they are going to try.”

After three weeks of surveying(see this slideshowon the University’s website), Maya structures have been found near two of the eight pools.

“The pools with the most substantial and most obvious settlement at the edge also turn out to be the deepest that we know,” Lucero said.

No vessels other than water jars were found in the structures built near the pools.

The use of these pools at the end of the Late Classic period (roughly 800-900AD) corresponds to an enduring drought that deforested parts of Central America and some believe ultimately drove the Maya from the area.

University of Illinois anthropology professor Lisa Lucero, who led the expedition, surveys Pool 1, the deepest of the pools her team explored. The need for fresh water could have drawn the Maya to the pools.

“They could have been making offerings to the rain god and other supernatural forces to bring an end to the drought,” Lucero said.

The chemistry of the water in each of the pools is distinct and the water in Pool 1, containing the submerged cave and a Maya structure at its edge, held the freshest water of the pools surveyed.

Yet the water contained a lot of soluble minerals,problematic for anyone who used it as their primary water supply. Those who drank the water over an extended period would have been at risk of developing kidney stones,Lucero explained.

The divers also extracted core samples of the sediment at the bottoms of two of the pools. Analysis of the soil, debris and pollen in the cores isexpected to offer insight into the pool’s natural history and their surrounding region.

The Maya believed that all land was covered bywater in ancient times.An understanding possibly inspired byfossils, which served as proof that land was once covered by the sea.

‘The surface of the earth had not appeared. There was only the calm sea and the great expanse of the sky,‘ reads the Popol Vuh creation myth.

It is only when the gods ordered the water to retire, and land emerged, that the actual era began.

Thus, tothe Mayans, openings in the earth, including caves and water-filled sinkholes called cenotes from the Maya word for ‘well’represented portals to the underworld, and they often left offerings there.

Ceremonial artefacts of the Maya have been found in pools and lakes in Mexico, but not yet in Belize.

Roman Ships and Amphorae Found off Sardinia and Panarea

Roman ship-discovery season is in full flow, with several finds and explorations announced in the past week.

Yesterday Ansa ran a story about the discovery of a 25-metre merchant ship from the first century AD with its cargo of 500 amphorae containing fruit and vegetables still on board. The ship is said to be in perfect condition and was found south of Panarea, in the group of Aeolian/Lipari islands north of Sicily. The news agency reported that Italy’s Maritime Superintendency and the Aurora Trust, an American foundation, were responsible for the find.

Aurora Trust found five wrecks off the Italian island of Ventotene last year, and in fact finding Roman shipwrecks in the Mediterranean is not a rare occurrence. Several discoveries from 2009, at Ventotene and Cyprus, were reported on Heritage Key, while another company searching off the coast of Campania (Capo Palinuro) earlier this year also found a Roman ship carrying amphorae.

Last week two discoveries were announced off the coast of Sardinia. A Roman merchant ship, dating from around 100 BC, was found off the coast of La Maddalena, an island off the north-eastern coast of Sardinia, while another wreck site has been detected off the north-western coast, near Costa Paradiso.

Fragments of amphorae and bronze nails have been found on the surface and it is archaeologically interesting. However, it’s a very well documented type of archaeological discovery

According to a local newspaper, La Nuova Sardegna, the ships are from between the second century BC and the first century AD.

However, the ‘normality’ of coming across a 2,000-year-old ship in the Med is reiterated by Dr Rubens D’Oriano, an expert in under water archaeology at the Superintendency for Archaeological Heritage for the provinces of Sassari and Nuoro, in Sardinia.

Speaking earlier this week about the discovery of the ancient shipwreck near La Maddalena, he said: Traces of a Roman sailing vessel have been found, which is to say that there are traces on the surface of the sea bed, showing that part of a Roman ship is buried under the sand.

Dr D’Oriano added: Fragments of amphorae and bronze nails have been found on the surface and it is archaeologically interesting. However, it’s a very well documented type of archaeological discovery. He emphasises that the discovery off La Maddalena is nothing out of the ordinary and describes it as completely normal.

When asked if the site may be investigated further or excavated, he is highly sceptical, noting that there is absolutely no funding at all from the Italian state for this type of archaeological site in Sardinia.

The sites were first noticed by amateur divers and were then investigated by archaeologists accompanied by a team of underwater experts from the Carabinieri’s cultural heritage guards in the province of Sassari.

The site off Costa Paradiso is near the town of Trinit d’Agultu e Vignola. Large Roman ceramic vases, known as dolia, from the first century AD have been found at a depth of 50 metres.

Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt Opens at Franklin Institute, Philadelphia

Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute plays host to the world premiere of Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt this Saturday (June 5). The exhibition, which runs until January 2 2011, promises to be a spectacular affair, combining over 150 artefacts relating to the famous queen, and visits the archaeology that is unearthing her amazing world day by day (click here for an interview with the Institute’s Troy Collins).

The show is organised by National Geographic, the same brains behind the Terracotta Warriors’ recent trip across North America. The exhibition’s showcase treasures include statues, jewellery and everyday items from Cleopatra’s fateful reign – here’s a quick list of the top artefacts:

Colossus of a Ptolemaic King: This huge red granite statue weighs in at 5.5 tons, and reaches a height of 16.5ft. The king in whose image it was created is unknown.

Colossal Head of Caesarion: Another large granite artefact, this time representing Caesarion, Cleopatra’s son who ruled with her from 44-30 BC. It is part of a statue which would have reached around 16ft in height.

Statue of a Ptolemaic Queen: this spooky statue is thought to represent either Cleopatra II or III, both of whom ruled Egypt during the mid-2nd century BC. Her most intriguing feature is her highly detailed hair, on which sits a diadem, or crown, emblazoned with the uraeus snake, symbol of Egypt. It’s one of many ancient treasures that have been pulled from the Bay of Aboukir, where Franck Goddio claims to have discovered the royal palace of Cleopatra.

Papyrus signed by Cleopatra:For me this seems the exhibition’s most fascinating artefact. For while the show’s other pieces are draped in grandeur and artistic splendour, this seemingly uninspiring tax exemption form was signed by none other than Cleopatra herself, apparently as a gesture of goodwill towards her Roman lover Mark Antony. Not only is it a glimpse into Cleopatra’s life, it’s also a rare insight into the daily bureaucracy of the ancient world.

Click To Watch Video

Search for the Tomb of Cleopatra (Featuring Dr. Kathleen Martinez)

Dr Kathleen Martinez, a young archaeologist from the Dominican Republic, has been excavating a site in Giza in the search for the tomb of Cleopatra.

CLICK TO WATCH

The exhibition’s artefacts may be spectacular enough, but just as intriguing is its collection of information and relics from the two highest-profile digs going on in search of Cleopatra. One is going on at Taposiris Magna, 30 miles west of Alexandria, led by Dominican archaeologist Kathleen Martinez (watch a video of the dig here).

The team is funded by Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities. Its chief, Dr Zahi Hawass, says the show gives a glimpse into the life of one of the world’s greatest characters. “This exhibition will give the American people the chance to learn about our search for Cleopatra, and will share with them the magic of this fascinating queen.”

Franck Goddio’s longstanding underwater search for Cleopatra will also be featured in the exhibition. Since 1992 Goddio and his team have been scouring the Mediterranean for remnants of the queen, and believe they have located her royal palace (click here for a list of the world’s top ten underwater cities). “We are delighted to present our underwater archaeological acheivements and discoveries…to the American public,” says Goddio.

Cleopatra (69-30 BC) was the last ruler of Egypt before it was taken by the Romans. Known as one of her era’s most beautiful women she won the hearts of two of Rome’s most powerful men – Julius Caesar and Mark Antony – before committing suicide when Egypt was finally lost. Following her death the Romans wiped out any trace of Cleopatra, making her one of the ancient world’s most enigmatic rulers.

Mafia Nuclear Waste Scandal Leads to Roman Amphorae Discovery in Italy

An underwater probe searching for evidence of vessels blown up by the Mafia to dispose of radioactive waste in the Mediterranean has found evidence of a shipwreck of a different kind containing several hundred Roman amphorae. The large clay ‘pots’ used to contain Roman foodstuffs (olive oil, wine, grain or fish sauce/garum) were spotted on the seabed off the coast of Campania in southern Italy by the company managing the underwater exploration.

The Aberdeen-based company, Hallin Marine, which provides under-sea services to industry, was using remote operated vehicles (ROVs) as part of an Italian government-run investigation into the disappearance of up to 42 ships. They were searching off the coast of Capo Palinuro, near Policastro, at a depth of 500 metres.

According to a press release from the company, Hallins ROV supervisor, Dougie Combe and his crew were stunned when they spotted the amphorae on the seabed more than 500m down. The crew carefully raised five amphorae from the seabed with special baskets. Mr Combe, from Speyside, near Aberdeen said: It was a big surprise when we came across the pots. The operation we were on had nothing to do with them – we were looking for slightly more modern wrecks from the last 20 years or so. We managed to get five [amphorae] up altogether, but there must have been hundreds of them there.”&QUOTE

The amphorae are now in the hands of the National Archaeological Museum of Paestum and are being studied by the Superintendancy for Archaeological Heritage of the Province of Salerno and Avellino.

Roman Shipwrecks in the Med – Two-a-Penny

The discovery of the Roman amphorae off Capo Palinuro isn’t that rare hundreds of Roman-era shipwrecks are thought to be dotted around the Mediterranean and a number of discoveries are made each year. Last year there were discoveries off Ventotene and Cyprus, for example.

The western coast of Italy was a busy trade route if not the busiest throughout the years of the Roman republic and empire. Merchant ships would have sailed up and down the coast since pre-Roman times carrying tin and copper from southern France, Cornwall and Spain. By the time the Roman republic was at its peak in the second and first centuries BC, wheat from Africa as well as wine and olive oil were also transported up and down the west coast of the Italian peninsular. This trade would have continued throughout the empire until the disintegration of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century AD.

Rome, as well as other large centres such as Pozzuoli near modern-day Naples, had large ports where imports and exports were handled. The Romans were big consumers of olive oil (they used it in lamps too) and Monte Testaccio in Rome a small mountain 50m high made up of discarded Roman amphorae is visible proof of just how many of these amphorae were shipped into the city.

The Mafia Radioactive Waste Scandal

The more remarkable aspect of this story probably isn’t the archaeological discovery, but the fact that it seems likely that radioactive waste has been dumped into the sea off the coast of Italy by the mafia-like criminal network in Calabria known as the ‘Ndrangeta.

An article in the Guardian explains that in 2006, Francesco Fonti, a boss of the ‘Ndrangheta, gave evidence that his criminal network was paid 100,000 to dispose of’ a ship, the MV Kunski, which was carrying toxic and nuclear waste off the coast of Cetraro, Calabria. The investigation being carried out, of which Hallin Marine is a part, is looking for evidence of the 42 ships carrying toxic waste that have gone missing.

First Pictures of Britain’s Oldest Shipwreck

South West Maritime Archaeological Group (SWMAG) have sent us some of the first pictures of the remarkable finds recovered from the site of Britains oldest shipwreck a 3,000 year old Bronze Age trading vessel that sunk off the coast of Devonshire in southwest England around 900 BC. We blogged about its discovery on Tuesday.

The wreck was located in just a few metres of water at the bottom of Wash Gully near Salcombe. When it went down, the boat was on its way back from the continent with a precious cargo of tin and copper ingots key raw metals in the Bronze Age as well as a number of other items including weapons and pieces of jewellery. While the remains of the boat itself have been eroded away altogether over the centuries, many of the artefacts have survived and been collected by SWMAG divers.

295 items weighing a total of 84 kilograms have been recovered altogether, and many more are expect to be located yet. The most impressive pieces are two gold torcs or bracelets, one of which can be seen glistening on the seabed in an underwater photograph. Another is a Ewart-Park Leaf Sword, an armament typical of the Late Bronze Age Ewart-Park industrial phase (named after a founders hoard discovered in a park in Northumberland).

Its the ingots that have really got archaeologists excited, however. These lumps of copper and tin, discoloured by the saltwater and coated in barnacles and other crustaceans after three millennia at the bottom of the English Channel, might not be much to look at, but their significance cant be underestimated.

Analysis of just two of the copper ingots has indicated that they are absolutely typical of the Late Bronze Age, and drawn from a variety of sources, none of which are necessarily British. They therefore testify to the substantial trade that took place between Britain and Europe, and a network that fanned out through France as far as the Iberian Peninsula, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Almost five times as many artefacts have been recovered from this vessel as from the site of the second largest Bronze Age shipwreck found in British waters, also at Salcombe, where just 53 pieces were picked up. As more of these finds are analysed, a much clearer picture of this European trade network is expected to emerge.

Archaeovideo: Digging in the Nile – Underwater Archaeology in Egypt

Ever wondered what ancient histories might be waiting to be discovered underwater, or dreamed about diving in the Nile and looking for treasures? Well, check out this new video from Heritage Key, featuring Dr. Hawass and teams of Egyptian divers excavating underwater relics near Aswan, Egypt. Experience almost first-hand that feeling of adventure that surrounds Zahi Hawass and his team as they search in the greenish basin of the Nile for precious items.

The success of Mediterranean underwater archaeology has led divers and Egyptologists to re-consider the the Nile as an attractive archaeological site. Already, the river has yielded some remarkable treasures, and unlike many of the country’s ancient artefacts, any found here will be staying in Egypt.

In this video we can see some of the artifacts found by professional divers working for the Supreme Council of Antiquities near Aswan; from a grinding stone to Coptic churches’ niches. Dr. Hawass stresses that this area would have been a market area in the past. The Nile was the ‘highway’ of Egypt and all commercial products as well as construction materials were transported up and down the river frequently. In fact, the river was so jam-packed with trade that any distraction, accident or dispute would result in materials and objects getting lost overboard seemingly forever – or at least until now.

Aswan was the source of sandstone for many of Egypt’s ancient monuments and was famous for its quarries. The ‘Unfinished Obelisk’ today sits at the site of an Obelisk production area, and Dr. Hawass dreams of finding a ‘major obelisk’, as he says in the video. But not only obelisks were made here. Sandstone was also used to make grinding stones, the ones used in bakeries to make the daily bread, one of the staple foods ancient Egyptians could not live without.

Religious objects made of stone are also being found at the bottom of the Nile; niches that were intended to be places in Coptic altars, in churches along Egypt, homes to the first Christian settlements, are also being ‘dug up’. Even big ceramic flasks or bottles resembling Roman amphorae are found. These prove that international commerce between Egypt and the surrounding countries once thrived, including, Dr. Hawass believes, trade with Turkey. He intends to pursue this quest further up the Nile where it runs north to meet the Mediterranean Sea in the Nile Delta.

But Dr Hawass is not the first to venture beneath the Nile. Underwater archaeology in Egypt began maybe in 1910, with a French engineer, Gaston Jondet. During the enlargement of Alexandria’s western port, Jondet noticed ancient harbour structures underneath. And again in 1933, at Abu Kir, some 30 km from Qaitbay, to the east of Alexandria, a British aircraft pilot noticed some vestiges within the water again.

In 1961, Kamal Abou el-Saadat, an Egyptian diver, noticed stone ruins at Silsileh, east of the ancient Cape Lochias, which turned out to be a seven metre statue of Isis Pharia, made from Aswan granite. In 1983 the French ships from Napoleon‘s fleet were also discovered. Along with the ships, many objects were recovered, including both weapons and personal objects.

But besides what was done at the time of the building of Aswan Dam (1900 and 1952), and the rescue of monuments, nothing in particular has characterized archaeology in Egypt in submarine terms that is important enough to be mentioned.

Until now.

In early 2008 a team from the Supreme Council of Antiquities – Department of Underwater Archaeology (SCA-DUA) conducted a survey of an area below the Aswan Dam near Elephantine Island using side-scan sonar.

An underwater survey was done and a number of items associated with a temple dedicated to the Egyptian Fertility God Khnum were found (previously located at the Elephantine Island), such as a stone doorway to the temple weighing many tons, from which a 1-ton section was brought to the surface and also the remains of an ancient Christian church.

The importance of submarine and sub-river findings in Egypt is unprecedented as now, with modern techniques, archaeologists in multidisciplinary teams are able to uncover, literally from sand, river basins and the sea bottom, lost treasures of not yet calculated historical interest.

A new branch of Egyptology might be in gestation – underwater Egyptology, with new disciplines to be learned in classes for future researchers, such as marine biology, geology and shipbuilding. The rest of us will wait with bated breath on shore, eager to see what treasures the Nile will reveal.

Video: Underwater Archaeology – Dr Zahi Hawass Excavates the Nile at Aswan

(Transcription of this video.)

See more great video interviews, such as Zahi Hawass talking about the search for KV64 and Dr Mark Lehner discussing the lives of pyramid builders in ancient Egypt, here on Heritage Key. Or visit our new video page to see what else we’ve discovered.

Roman Shipwreck off Coast of Cyprus was Carrying French Wine

A second century AD Roman shipwreck with a cargo of 130 amphorae containing wine and possibly also olive oil has been the subject of an underwater archaeological survey off the eastern coast of Cyprus. The survey, the first detailed non-invasive archaeological survey conducted at the site since the ship was found in 2007, was completed at the end of August.

It found that the amphorae, which are now scattered on the seabed, came from south-eastern Asia Minor as well as the north-east Mediterranean region. Some of the jars contained wine from the south coast of France. Other items provide clues about maritime life in Roman times such as storage and cooking items used in the ship’s galley. This survey follows several other underwater archaeological projects, including the discovery of a ‘graveyard’ of Roman ships wrecked near the Italian island of Ventotene in July this year, an underwater project to save remains in the Solent Strait in the UK, as well as exploration of an underwater cave in the Dominican Republic.

The ship was found in shallow waters off the eastern coast of Cyprus at Cape Greco and may have been about to call at the Roman port of Lefkolla on Cyprus although it’s also possible it was trading in shallow water or moving products over a short distance along the coast. Archaeologists are unsure about where the ship was travelling to.

The ship is thought to have sunk during the first two decades of the second century AD. This was a time when Trajan was emperor (98-117 AD) he enlarged Rome’s maritime port, Portus, suggesting that this was an important time for cargo ships transporting goods around the Mediterranean to the large cities of the Roman empire.

Cyprus had been part of the Roman empire since 58 BC and was largely peaceful. However, during 115-117 AD

(around the time that archaeologists believe this ship would have gone down) there was an insurrection of the Jewish community led by Artemion. The Romans under Trajan were able to suppress the uprising only after heavy casualties – 240,000 people are reported to have been massacred by the Jews. The Jewish communities in Cyrene and Egypt also took part in the uprising known as the Kitos Wars.

Future work at the site will involve a full shallow-water survey near Cape Greco with a remote sensing search for other sites that may contain better-conserved objects protected by the sandy seabed further out to sea. The area off Cape Greco is rich in maritime history. It is near to the site where the Macedonian Demetrios Poliorketes defeated Ptolemy of Egypt in a large sea battle in 306 BC. Although almost 100 ships were reported sunk, Ptolemy eventually returned and was successful in taking control of the island. There are many other reports of shipwrecks along this area of the coast.

The underwater archaeological project is sponsored by the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University, with financial support from the University of Pennsylvania and RPM Nautical Foundation, as well as additional logistical support from the Thetis Foundation.

Photos by the Cyprus Department of Antiquities.

What’s the Size of a Thumbnail and the Biggest Obstacle to Ancient Great Lakes Archaeology?

For the last 12,000 years people have clustered near the Great Lakes, using them for drinking, food, sanitation and transportation, and the area is ripe for archaeological exploration. The shorelines of these lakes have have shrunk and expanded as the climate changed, which means that many ancient sites are now underwater. With advances in underwater archaeology now enabling more and more offshore excavations, this would not normally be a problem. However, in this case, it seems that archaeologists have turned up just a few decades too late. A recent massive invasion of zebra mussels is making progress extremely difficult.

During a period from roughly 10,000 to 7,500 years ago, the shoreline of Lake Huron was lower than today and a ridge called the Alpena-Amberley, whichconnectedMichigan and Ontario, stood above water. Computer models indicate that this ridge was a popular migration route for caribou and would have attracted hunters.

Last spring, University of Michigan archaeologist Dr. John O Shea and his team reported that they have found evidence of these hunterson the now submerged ridge.They found what appears to be a caribou drive lane – a simple structure with three small inukshuk rocks, spaced in a row, which would have been used to lure the caribou to walk in the same direction. (Caribou tend to follow features they see in the landscape).

They also found what appears to be a hunting blind – a pile of rocks used to hide from the animals, so that they do not see that you are hunting them until its too late.

Last Thursday, on the University of Toronto campus, John O Shea discussed thisresearch in detail. While much of what he said has been reported before here on HK, he illustrated a problem which is preventing them from taking their discovery to the next level Zebra Mussels.

If we had been doing this work in 1975 it would be like going to the museum, said OShea, but the thumbnail-sized invaders appeared on the Great Lakes in late 1980s and spread rapidly, and now cover much of the area they’re trying to excavate. The mussels are indigenous to the Caspian area of Asia.

If we had been doing this work in 1975 it would be like going to the museum

Aside from wrecking havoc with the ecosystem, these mussels, according to Dr. OShea, are making underwater archaeology very difficult. Whenever a submersible gets a close-up view of an archaeological feature (such as the hunting blind), the details (artefacts in particular) are blurred out by all the mussels.

Fixing the problem is even harder. While it may be possible to blast the mussels away using an engine or some other device, it would have to be done in a way that doesnt harm any artefacts. At present the best option seems to be to usedivers to go down, pick up artefacts by hand, and dust the mussels off carefully. Its an expensive proposition, and, in the deeper levels of the ridge, not even possible since divers can only go so deep.

Ventotene’s Graveyard of Roman Ships

A team of archaeologists using sonar technology to scan the seabed have discovered a graveyard of five pristine ancient Roman shipwrecks off the small Italian island of Ventotene. The trading vessels, dating from the first century BC to the fifth century AD, lie more than 100 meters underwater and are amongst the deepest wrecks discovered in the Mediterranean in recent years.

Part of an archipelago situated halfway between Rome and Naples on Italys west coast, Ventotene historically served as a place of shelter during rough weather in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The ships appear to have been heading for safe anchorage, but they never made it, said Timmy Gambin, head of archaeology for the Aurora Trust. So in a relatively small area we have five wrecks… a graveyard of ships.

The vessels – all ancient shipwrecks dating back to various phases of the Roman period – were transporting wine from Italy, prized fish sauce from Spain and north Africa, and a mysterious cargo of metal ingots from Italy, possibly to be used in the construction of statues or weaponry. From the project report:

Underwater video from one of the shipwrecks
found at Ventotene:

Carabinieri diver holding up a mortar:

The area surrounding Ventotene surveyed
by the Aurora Trust:

All photographs and video by the Aurora Trust.
You can find more amazing images on their Flickr stream.

A very well preserved shipwreck with cargo of mixed Spanish amphorae from Baetica carrying garum (Roman fish sauce) measuring approximately 15 metres long by 5 metres wide. The height of the amphorae, many if which are still stacked in their original position, is of just over two metres.
A very well preserved shipwreck with cargo of Italian wine amphorae (from Campania) measuring approximately 18 metres long and 5 metres wide. The height of the amphorae, many if which are still stacked in their original position, is of just over two metres.
Shipwreck with mixed cargo of mortaria (mortars) and Italian wine amphorae (from Campania) measuring approximately 13 metres long and 4 metres wide. The height of the mortaria pile is approximately one metre. Some amphorae can be observed emerging from under the pile of mortaria. Although divided into two this site is very well preserved.
Shipwreck with mixed cargo of Italian wine amphorae, glass frit, metal bars and as yet unidentified cylindrical objects. This site measures approximately 20 metres long and 5 metres wide and is relatively flat (not more that 50 cm off the seabed). Although not as complete as the first three sites the objects from this shipwreck are relatively well preserved.

The underwater archaeologists then used the ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles) video data to select three of the five sites for deep sea operations aimed at obtaining high resolution video images. Top Italian underwater photographer, Roberto Rinaldi, worked with the AURORA Trust and the Ministero dei beni Culturali and was assisted by dive expert Marco Donato.

In order to better understand the discovered sites it was decided to recover a sample of objects from two of the shipwrecks. In a delicate, well-planned operation supported by a fantastic team of Carabinieri divers, four mortaria were recovered from site 3 and one amphora from site 1. These were transferred to the museum of Ventotene where they will be desalinated, restored and eventually displayed.

The Trust is planning to return to Ventotene in the summer of 2010. It is envisaged that a sub bottom profiler will be deployed over the 5 shipwrecks so as to determine the extent of the site buried in under the sediment. Furthermore, the ROV will be deployed to carry out more photographic recording of the sites and if deemed necessary samples of objects from other sites will be recovered.

In Bija’s earlier blogpost ‘Roman Shipwrecks and Berlusconi Found in Deep Water‘, she quotes Annalisa Zarattini from the Italian Culture Ministry saying that this underwater discovery is part of a wider plan to locate and examine sunken treasures and artefacts before looters can get to them. New sophisticated technology means that underwater probing is increasingly within the reach of private organisations, who may not hand their finds over to the Italian state. Zarattini adds: It’s important that we arrive there first.