Marine Archæology - New Underwater Discoveries
January - June 2010

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"Gas pipeline probe uncovers shipwrecks in Baltic Sea"

March 08, 2010, Yahoo News / AFP, France:
"A dozen previously unknown shipwrecks, some of them believed to be up to 1,000 years old, were discovered in the Baltic Sea during a probe of the sea bed to prepare for the installation of a large gas pipeline, the Swedish National Heritage Board said Monday.

Map of northern Europe showing the route of the
planned Nord Stream gas pipeline

Copyright © 2010 Patrice Dere for AFP

'We have managed to identify 12 shipwrecks, and nine of them are considered to be fairly old', Peter Norman, a senior advisor with the heritage board, told AFP.

'"We think many of the ships are from the 17th and 18th centuries and we think some could even be from the Middle Ages', he said, stressing that 'this discovery offers enormous culture-historical value.'

The shipwrecks were discovered during a probe by the Russian-led Nord Stream consortium of the sea bed route its planned gas pipeline from Russia to the European Union will take through the Baltic." [Full Story]

"China, Kenya to search for ancient Chinese wrecks"

February 26, 2010, WEAR ABC 3 News / AP, USA:
"An agreement has been signed to allow a search for part of China's distant past off the coast of East Africa.

A three-year project will allow exploration of waters near the popular Kenyan tourist towns of Malindi and Lamu in an attempt to find ancient Chinese ships wrecked almost 600 years ago.

The official Xinhua News Agency reports exploration work will be conducted for up to three months each year, possibly starting as early as July."
[Full Story]

"Bronze Age shipwreck found off Devon coast"

February 14, 2010, The Sunday Telegraph, UK:
"One of the world's oldest shipwrecks has been discovered off the coast of Devon after lying on the seabed for almost 3,000 years.

The trading vessel was carrying an extremely valuable cargo of tin and hundreds of copper ingots from the Continent when it sank.

In total 295 artefacts have so far been recovered
weighing a total of more than 84kg

Copyright © 2010 The Sunday Telegraph, UK

Experts say the 'incredibly exciting' discovery provides new evidence about the extent and sophistication of Britain's links with Europe in the Bronze Age as well as the remarkable seafaring abilities of the people during the period.

Archaeologists have described the vessel, which is thought to date back to around 900BC, as being a 'bulk carrier' of its age.

The copper and tin would have been used for making bronze – the primary product of the period which was used in the manufacture of not only weapons, but also tools, jewellery, ornaments and other items" [Full Story]

"New Underwater Archaeological Site Designated
Off Polyaigos Island"

February 01, 2010, Balkan Travellers, Bulgaria:
"A shipwreck located off the small uninhabited Cycladic island of Polyaigos in the central Aegean will be designated as an “underwater archaeological site” by Greece’s Culture Ministry, the institution’s representatives announced recently.

The shipwreck, first spotted in 2004, was initially explored by underwater archaeologists in the fall of 2009, the Athens News Agency reported today.

An image of the sunken shipwreck off Polyaigos Island

Copyright © 2010 Balkan Travellers, Bulgaria

These excavations resulted in the discovery of valuable archaeological objects, including amphorae, ceramic vases and fragments of the vessel’s anchor.

In addition, the shipwreck was photographed and filmed in detail, which allowed the creation of a high-definition photo-mosaic, while procedures have been set in motion to designate the area as an underwater archaeological site." [Full Story]

"Hidden Wrecks Revealed"

January 29, 2010, Northumberland Gazette, England:
"Nearly a thousand new archeological sites have been discovered off the North East coast as part of an English Heritage-funded project.

During the survey, conducted by EH archaeologists along with help from Northumberland Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, ship wrecks, wartime defences and medieval remains have been uncovered.

Four shipwrecks revealed on the mud flats at Amble
during a survey by English Heritage archaeologists

Copyright © 2010 Northumberland Gazette

The survey has been done to help researchers understand the history of the coastline and damages it may face.

Among the results were four ship wrecks found in mud flats off the coast of Amble. Their existence had previously been recorded, but until the survey took place their exact location was not known." [Full Story]

"Exploration of shipwreck of Polyaigos"

January 29, 2010, Athens News Agency, Greece:
"The Culture Ministry intends to designate a shipwreck off the tiny uninhabited Cycladic isle of Polyaigos, in the central Aegean, as a 'underwater archaeological site' after completion of an initial examination of finds that surfaced during recent marine digs, according to a ministry announcement.

Divers on the maritime excavations in November 2009 recovered vases dating back to the 4th and 5th centuries BC from depths of 25-49 meters off the coast of Polyaigos.

Aquatic archaeologists brought up such artifacts as amphorae used for carrying, and small table ceramic vases, all intact, as well as fragments of the shipwrecked vessel's anchor.

The ancient vessel was loaded with amphorae, which are scattered around the wreck in two main concentrations." [Full Story]

"Galle: A treasure trove of wrecked ships"

January 17, 2010, The Sunday Times, Sri Lanka:
"Galle port with its splendid natural harbour was an important port in days of yore being reputed as a trade centre due to its location just 12 miles away from international sea routes.

Many sunken ships have been found here according to the UNESCO Pacific Zone’s marine archaeological centre in Galle Fort.

An ancient clay pot retrieved from the seas
off Godawaya in Ambalantota

Copyright © 2010 The Sunday Times, Sri Lanka

There are as many as 26 places that need to be surveyed here which have a history dating back a hundred years.

Along the coast in the Galle and Ambalangoda areas more than 100 wrecks of ships are reported have been found already." [Full Story]

"Treasure found off La Manga"

January 15, 2010, Le@der, Spain:
"Buried beneath shells, rocks and sand, for 2,600 years, while the construction boom has been completely changing the surrounding landscape, a treasure of incalculable value has lain just off La Manga.

Now, 26 centuries later, archaeologists from eleven countries are bringing these antique objects to the light of day once again.

divers retrieving some of the artifacts found
off the coast of La Manga

Copyright © 2010 The Le@der

The find appears to be the cargo of a commercial ship carrying ivory from African elephants, amber and lots of ceramic objects.

The find has been kept secret for the past three years by the team of divers led by the Spaniard Juan Pinedo Reyes and the American Mark Edward Polzer.

The recovery project is being financed by National Geographic, who have reached an agreement with the Spanish Minister of Culture, the Institute of Nautical Archaeology and the University A&M of Texas." [Full Story]

"Shipworm migration poses risk for Swedish sea treasures"

January 14, 2010, The Local, Sweden:
"A number of maritime treasures off Sweden’s southern coast are under threat from the shipworm, which is gaining a foothold in the Baltic Sea due to climate change, according to researchers at the University of Gothenburg.

'We’re quite worried about wrecks off the coast in southwest Sweden, outside of Skåne', University of Gothenburg marine biology researcher Christin Appelqvist told The Local.

According to Appelqvist and her colleagues, around 100,000 well-preserved ship wrecks are scattered across the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

Traditionally, shipworms have avoided the Baltic Sea due to its lower salt content.

The Baltic therefore holds a number of archeological finds featuring wrecks of wooden ships and structures which would not likely have survived were it not for the mild salinity levels of Baltic waters.

But the Teredo navalis species of shipworm, one of 65 varieties found throughout the world, has been making its way into the Baltic Sea, having been spotted along both the Danish and German coasts in the southern Baltic." [Full Story]

"Is this a wall of Dwarka?"

January 04, 2010, Mid Day, India:
"14-km long wall discovered near the Konkan coast could lead to a fort, say archaeologists.

The text in question was written in cuneiform on a 3,700-year-old tablet brought to England from the Middle East more than sixty years ago by an RAF soldier, Leonard Simmons.

If James Cameron, director of the Hollywood block buster Avatar, had known what a noted Pune archeologist has discovered in the waters of the Arabian Sea, he would probably be tempted to make a sequel to his film. But unlike Avatar, a film that depicts the way humanoids exist in the future, this discovery could throw light on the ancient civilization that existed hundreds of years ago.

Archaeologist Ashok Marathe and his team accidentally discovered a massive underwater 14-km wall under the sea near Valneshwar off the Ratnagiri coast.

And the discovery has baffled archaeologists and oceanologists, who are trying to figure out which ancient civilisation could have constructed such a big wall and that too under the sea.

The purpose of constructing an underwater wall is equally baffling."
[Full Story]

"Noah's Ark not what we thought"

January 02, 2010, The Examiner, USA:
"According to a recently translated ancient Babylonian text, Noah's famous vessel depicted in the Christian imagination as a double-prowed wooden ship, was actually a circular raft, made of reeds.

The text in question was written in cuneiform on a 3,700-year-old tablet brought to England from the Middle East more than sixty years ago by an RAF soldier, Leonard Simmons.

A traditional depiction of Noah's Ark

Copyright © 2010 Wikimedia Creative Commons

Douglas, son of Leonard, recently brought the tablet to Dr. Irving Finkel Assistant Keeper of Department of Middle East at the British Museum, who read the 60 lines of text and 'nearly fell off his chair'.

According to Finkel, dozens of such tablets have told the ancient Mesopotamian story of the flood, which was later adopted as the account of Genesis, in the Old Testament.

But this is the first to describe the actual shape of the boat itself."
[Full Story]

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"Eden in the East: The Drowned Continent of Southeast Asia"
by
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Get This Book From:
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"A book that completetly changes the established and conventional view of prehistory by relocating the Lost Eden - the world's 1st civilization - to SouthEast Asia. At the end of the Ice Age, SouthEast Asia formed a continent twice the size of India, which included Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia and Borneo.

The South China Sea, the Gulf of Thailand and the Java sea, which were all dry, formed the connecting parts of the continent. Geologically, this half sunken continent is the Shunda shelf or Sundaland.

He produces evidence from ethnography, archaeology, oceanography, from creation stories, myths and sagas and from linguistics and DNA analysis, to argue that this founder civilization was destroyed by a catastrophic flood, caused by a rapid rise in the sea level at the end of the last ice age."

... exclusive ...

October 2002
Morien Institute
illustrated interview with
Professor Masaaki Kimura
of the University of the Ruykyus,
Okinawa, Japan, regarding
the discovery of:

"Megalithic structures found underwater off the coast of
Yonaguni-jima, Japan"

... exclusive ...

June 2002
John Michael of the
Morien Institute
illustrated interview with
Dr Paul Weinzweig
of Advanced Digital Communications,
Havana, Cuba, regarding
the discovery of:

"Megalithic urban ruins discovered off the coast of Cuba"