The British-led Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project (Black Sea MAP) claims to have found the world’s oldest intact wreck, an ancient Greek sailing vessel that was radiocarbon dated back to 400 BC, making the shipwreck over 2,400 years old.

The wooden hull is quite well preserved because it had been lying below the surface of the Black Sea about 2 kms deep, where an abnormally oxygen-free water level allows organic material to remain intact for thousands of years with almost no decay. Its mast, rudder, and rowing benches were still clearly visible in almost pristine state considering it had been lying there for millennia, and the shipwreck was just jutting up from the bottom of the Black Sea. Even the contents of the shipwreck’s holdings remain intact.

A team of British and Bulgarian researchers found the skeleton of the Greek trading vessel during an exhaustive survey of 2000 square kms of seabed. It is an incredible find. The research team stated that a vessel of this age and kind has never been seen before in modern times.

The shipwreck’s design bears a remarkable similarity to a ship depicted on a famous piece of Greek pottery in the British Museum, called the Siren Vase, an artifact that shows Odysseus, the hero of Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, strapped to the mast of the ship to protect himself from the Sirens, as his ship and crew pass three mythical Sirens with their enchanting deadly songs that were believed to lure sailors to their death.

The Siren Vase dates back to 480 BC, and the shipwreck confirms its representation of the naval architecture of that era – single mast forward, high forecastle, rowing stations amidship, and a slender, upswept stern, with a length of 23 cm or 75 ft. The Greek ship was built about 100 years after the Siren Vase was made.

The Black Sea MAP project benefited from the capabilities of today’s maritime technology through the use of an offshore survey vessel. They chartered the Stril Explorer, a survey ship that was built for offshore oil and gas exploration, and provided an ideal platform for marine archaeology. On board are two sophisticated ROVs: the “Supporter,” equipped for high resolution 3D photogrammetry and video, and the “Surveyor Interceptor,” which carries a full set of geophysical instruments, with a laser scanner and remote controlled deep-water camera systems that can provide ultra high-definition images from more than 2 kms deep.

The 3-year expedition began with a different mission at the outset, which was to study prehistoric sea level changes in the Black Sea region, but it quickly expanded to include shipwreck hunting, with over 60 ancient shipwrecks found so far. Their hunt unearthed a 17th-century Cossack raiding fleet, and Roman merchant ships, among others.

The Black Sea MAP scientific team includes researchers from the University of Southampton’s Centre for Maritime Archaeology that has established a formal partnership with the Bulgarian Institute of Archaeology and the Bulgarian Centre for Underwater Archaeology. Partner institutions include Södertörn University, Sweden; University of Connecticut; the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research; and MMT, the firm behind the “Surveyor Interceptor” ROV.

Professor John Adams, Black Sea MAP Principal Investigator, and the University of Southampton helped lead the expedition, with students from disadvantaged schools observing on board.

“A ship, surviving intact, from the Classical world, lying in over two kms of water, is something I would never have believed possible. This will change our understanding of shipbuilding and seafaring in the ancient world.” ~ Prof. John Adams

References

• Romey, Kristin. Ancient Black Sea Shipwreck is Unprecedented Discovery. National Geographic. 23-October-2018.
• Rawlinson, Kevin. World’s Oldest Intact Shipwreck Discovered in Black Sea.
• The Guardian, 23-October-2018.
• World’s Oldest Intact Wreck Found in the Black Sea. The Maritime Executive. 23-October-2018.
• Shipwreck Found in Black Sea is World’s Oldest Intact. British Broadcasting Corp, (BBC). 23-October-2018.