Marine Archaeology 2015 New Underwater Archaeological Discoveries

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Over the past decade or so there have been numerous discoveries about the ancient world, many of which cannot be explained by the traditional views of prehistory as interpreted by mainstream archaeologists. It would be impossible to keep abreast of them all, but many have major implications for our greater understanding of the cataclysmic events of antiquity which are remembered in the stories of Atlantis, the Deucalian flood, and the flood of Noah that have been passed down from generation to generation in both oral and written traditions since time immemorial


Of course, there are so many ancient tales of flooded kingdoms, cataclysmic inundations and sunken lands from more or less every corner of the world, that it is difficult to avoid the basic question of whether or not they all refer to the same cataclysm, or a series of cataclysms that happened over several millennia from around 15,000 BC to around 1,500 BC? Many scientists now believe that there were a series of rapid sea-level changes which marked the abrupt end of the last Ice Age, especially at the time of Plato’s original date of 9,600 BC where he placed the supposed destruction of Atlantis.


The melting ice-sheets, it is believed by ‘uniformitarians’, were sufficient to account for these sea-level rises, but other scientists are looking at the possibility that supermassive quantities of water-ice were rudely delivered to the Earth by a giant comet which passed close to the Earth and the Moon at the end of the Pleistocene era – again at around 11,500 years ago. This “event” was coeval with the world’s major mountain ranges – such as the Alps, the Andes, and the Himalayas – attaining their present elevations, whilst many of the world’s low-lying basin areas collapsed in an abrupt series of crustal deformations caused by the gravitational effects of a celestial body in such close proximity to Earth.


Many of the world’s ‘deluge traditions’ refer to a celestial agency as having been the cause of the global floods, as well as the major rifting of Earth’s crust in numerous locations, and possibly also causing a tilt in the Earth’s rotational axis which brought about the seasons and the frigid polar regions as we now know them. The mass extinctions which marked the end of the Pleistocene and the start of the present Holocene era are also dated to between 10,000 and 12,000 years ago, as are the unconsolidated jumbles of now extinct land animals, marine lifeforms, and Pleistocene flora which comprise the many types of ‘drift deposits’ found jammed with extreme force into caves and rock fissures worldwide.


Many species from widely differing climatic zones and habitats lie side-by-side in bits and pieces evidencing the violent nature of their common demise, and careful analysis of these suggest the cause as being not the Ice Age of the uniformitarians, but the tumultuous swirling waters of mega-tsunami. Either way, the major question which cannot any longer be reasonably avoided by serious prehistorical researchers must be:


“What more evidence of ancient civilisations, and of the sea-faring peoples of world-wide
mythology, remains to be discovered beneath the waves on the
continental shelves all around our planet?”

 


Below are some video reports about the remains of ancient cities that have recently
been discovered underwater on coastal shelves around the world:

 


Sunken Ancient Egyptian City Discovered


 

 

 

 


Ancient City of Dwarka Discovered

off the NW coast of India


 


Astro-Archaeology 2015 News Headlines


Tsunami Past & Present



updated daily

 


 Today is

Thursday, February 23, 2023 

 



New Marine Archaeology Discoveries made in 2015 will appear below
as we become aware of them …



“Greek and Danish archaeologists excavate the ancient Greek harbour town Lechaion”


December 23, 2015, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

“In Greece, underwater excavations of Lechaion, ancient Corinth’s partially submerged harbour town, reveal the infrastructure of more than a thousand years of flourishing maritime trade.

Researchers from the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports and the University of Copenhagen are using cutting-edge methods to uncover the configuration and scale of the harbour.

Corinth ranked among the most economically and militarily powerful, and enduring, cities of the Greek, Roman and Byzantine periods.

The city had an exceptional geographical advantage in the North East corner of the Peloponnese and controlled the Isthmus that facilitated land travel between Northern and Southern Greece, and travel by sea between the Western and Eastern Mediterranean.

Corinth, which lay some three kilometres from the sea, built on this natural advantage by constructing two harbour towns – the main harbour Lechaion on the Corinthian Gulf to the West, and Kenchreai on the Saronic Gulf to the East.”


[Read The Full Story]


[Visit the site to see the amazing underwater photos of divers at work – Ed.]


 



“Sunken haul of Roman fish sauce found off Italy”


December 11, 2015, The Local, Italy

“Archaeologists have discovered an ancient Roman vessel laden with 3000 jars of delicious Roman fish sauce – or garum – on the seabed off the coast of Italy.

The find was presented on Thursday by archaeologists, who spent almost two years searching for the 25-meter wreck in the deep blue waters five miles of the coast of Alassio, in the northeastern Liguria region.

‘It’s an exceptional find that dates to the first or second century AD’, Dr. Simon Luca Trigona, who led the team, told The Local.

‘It’s one of just five ‘deep sea’ Roman vessels ever to be found in the Mediterranean and the first one to be found off the coast of Liguria. We know it was carrying a large cargo of garum when it sank.’

The presence of an ancient vessel on the seabed was signalled to archaeologists in 2012, when local fisherman dredged up fragments of some clay jars that had been part of the vessel’s payload 2000 years ago.”


[Read The Full Story]


[Must have been popular fish sauce – Ed.]


 



“Turkey’s hidden basilica: Underwater and under wraps

but not for much longer”


November 03, 2015, EuroNews, France

“A hidden, underwater treasure from Turkey will soon be revealed to the world – a Byzantine-era basilica only discovered last year by chance, during an aerial photo-shoot.

The 1,600 year old Iznik Basilica lies within Lake Iznik in the Turkish northwest.

Hailed as one of the world’s most important, most exciting discoveries, it will soon be open to world tourism.

That is because the basilica – built to honour Saint Neophytos – considered a martyr after being killed by Roman soldiers – is now to be transformed into an underwater archaeological museum.”

[Read The Full Story]


[Watch The Video – it’s great but very slow loading – Ed.]


 



“22 Shipwrecks Found in Single Location in Greece”


October 28, 2015, Discovery New, USA

“Underwater archaeologists have discovered 22 shipwrecks around a small Greek archipelago, revealing what may be the ancient shipwreck capital of the world.

Hailed as one of the top archaeological finds of 2015, the discovery was made by a joint Greek-American archaeological expedition in the small Fourni archipelago with an area of just 17 square miles.

This is a collection of 13 islands and islets located between the eastern Aegean islands of Samos and Icaria.

‘Surpassing all expectations, over only 13 days we added 12 percent to the total of known ancient shipwrecks in Greek territorial waters’, Peter Campbell, of the University of Southampton and co-director from US based RPM Nautical Foundation, told Discovery News.”

[Read The Full Story]


[Some amazingly clear images of marine archaeologists and the spectacular finds. It’s really well worth a visit to read the full story – Ed.]


 



“Marine Archaeologists Excavate Greek

Antikythera Shipwreck”


September 24, 2015, WHOI.edu, USA

“Archaeologists excavating the famous ancient Greek shipwreck that yielded the Antikythera mechanism have recovered more than 50 items including a bronze armrest (possibly part of a throne), remains of a bone flute, fine glassware, luxury ceramics, a pawn from an ancient board game, and several elements of the ship itself.

The shipwreck dates to circa 65 B.C., and was discovered by Greek sponge fishermen in 1900 off the south-western Aegean island of Antikythera.

They salvaged 36 marble statues of mythological heroes and gods; a life-sized bronze statue of an athlete; pieces of several more bronze sculptures; scores of luxury items; and skeletal remains of crew and passengers.

The wreck also relinquished fragments of the world’s first computer: the Antikythera Mechanism, a geared mechanical device that encoded the movements of the planets and stars and predicted eclipses.”


[Read The Full Story]


[A clearer picture is emerging of those who originally owned and used the Antikythera Mechanism. Well worth a visit to read the full story – Ed.]


 



“Ancient sea route discovered in Mersin”


September 12, 2015, Hürriyet Daily News, Turkey

“Underwater archaeological work carried out by Konya Selçuk University (SU) in the southern province of Mersin’s Silifke district has unearthed a 5,000-year-old sea route.

The SU Underwater Research Center’s Selçuk-1 Scientific Research Vessel observed the coasts of Mersin, located in the eastern Mediterranean, where traces of the world’s first maritime route and earliest harbors were found.

The work was carried out under the consultancy of the Silifke Museum with contributions by the Turkish Underwater Archaeology Foundation and the Suna-Inan Kiraç Mediterranean Civilizations Institute.

The center’s deputy director, Assistant Professor Hakan Öniz, said the work had been initiated to determine the location of archaeological wreckages.

He said they had found important cultural heritage artifacts from the Bronze Age to the Ottoman era including anchoring spots, ancient vessel wreckages and ancient shipyards.”

[Read The Full Story]


[More great images of divers. Well worth a visit to read the full story – Ed.]


 



“One more ancient civilisation found in Lake Issyk-Kul:

could this be where St Matthew is buried?”


September 01, 2015, The Siberian Times, Russia

“Siberian scientists make discovery of 2,500 year old Saka settlement in up to 23 metres of water in Kyrgyzstan.

The new find at the lake is separate from the discovery in 2007 of the ruins of an ancient metropolis of roughly the same age and Scythian burial mounds under its waters.

A piece of a large ceramic pot found in the lake has a stamp on it written in Armenian and Syrian scripts, which, if confirmed, gives credence to the theory that an Armenian monastery was on this site in Medieval times, it is claimed.

‘The only populated lands on earth that have not yet been explored in any depth are those which have been lost underneath the sea’, says Professor Vince Gaffney, Anniversary Chair in Landscape Archaeology at the University of Bradford.

‘An intriguing version is that this remote lake was the last resting place of evangelist St Matthew, one of the 12 disciples of Jesus, and the find may support a theory that an Armenian monastery once existed here at which his relics were supposedly buried.'”


[Read The Full Story]


[Some really great images of the divers. Well worth a visit to read the full story – Ed.]


 



“British Atlantis: archaeologists begin exploring

lost world of Doggerland”


September 01, 2015, The Daily Telegraph, UK

“A lost world off the British coast which was flooded by the rising North Sea thousands of years ago, is finally to reveal its secrets.

The ancient country of Doggerland was once the home to thousands of stone age settlers and was an important land bridge between Britain and Northern Europe.

Now archaeologists at the University of Bradford have begun a huge project to reconstruct the ancient Mesolithic landscape which is now hidden beneath the waves.

Using seabed mapping data gathered by energy companies, the team is planning to produce a detailed 3D chart that will show rivers, lakes, hills and coastlines of the country.

Specialist survey ships will also take core sediment samples from selected areas of the landscape to extract millions of fragments of DNA from plants and animals which once lived on the lost world.

‘The only populated lands on earth that have not yet been explored in any depth are those which have been lost underneath the sea’, says Professor Vince Gaffney, Anniversary Chair in Landscape Archaeology at the University of Bradford.

‘Although archaeologists have known for a long time that ancient climatic change and sea level rise must mean that Doggerland holds unique and important information about early human life in Europe, until now we have lacked the tools to investigate this area properly.'”

[Read The Full Story]


[A really great story with some incredible images and diagrams. Well Done The Daily Telegraph! Well worth a visit to read the full story – Ed.]


 



“‘Sea Monster’ Figurehead Emerges From Baltic Sea”


August 12, 2015, Discovery News, USA

“A wooden sea monster emerged on Tuesday from the Baltic sea after lying on the seabed off the southern Swedish town of Ronneby for more than 500 years.

Representing a ferocious looking creature with lion ears and crocodile-like mouth, the 660-pound figurehead stood at the prow of a ship.

It was carved from the top of an 11-foot-long beam.

According to experts at Blekinge Museum, which was involved in the salvage effort, the ‘monster’ was part of the Gribshunden, a 15th-century warship belonging to the Danish King Hans.”

[Read The Full Story]


[Scary Sea Monster!!! – Ed.]


 



“Monolith in Mediterranean Sea like an

Underwater Stonehenge”


August 10, 2015, NewsMax, USA

“Archaeologists have discovered an underwater ‘Stonehenge-style’ monolith in the Mediterranean basin, possibly made by one of the earliest civilizations in the region.

The monolith discovery, published in the Journal of Archaeologist Science, was made in water 131 feet deep on what researchers believe is a sunken island in a channel off the coast of Sicily.

Archaeologists said they believe the monolith was made by man about 10,000 years ago, according to Discovery News.

‘The discovery of the submerged site in the Sicilian Channel may significantly expand our knowledge of the earliest civilizations in the Mediterranean basin and our views on technological innovation and development achieved by the Mesolithic inhabitants’, said the researchers.

‘The monolith found, made of a single, large block, required a cutting, extraction, transportation and installation, which undoubtedly reveals important technical skills and great engineering.’

‘The belief that our ancestors lacked the knowledge, skill and technology to exploit marine resources or make sea crossings must be progressively abandoned’, they said.”

[Read The Full Story]


[Great underwater photos, and well worth a visit to the websites to read the full stories and see the images and diagrams – Ed.]


 



“Underwater ‘Stonehenge’ Monolith Found Off Coast of Sicily”


August 06, 2015, Discovery News, USA

“Archaeologists have discovered a mysterious Stonehenge-style monolith in the deep sea off the coast of Sicily, shedding new light on the earliest civilizations in the Mediterranean basin.

Broken in two parts, the 3.2-foot-long monolith has a rather regular shape and features three holes of similar diameter.

One, which can be found at its end, crosses it completely from part to part; the others appear at two sides of the massive stone.

Such features leave no doubt that the monolith was man-made some 10,000 years ago.”

[Read The Full Story]


[Great story and incredible underwater photos. A MUST SEE – Ed.]


 



“Ancient Egyptian underwater treasures to be exhibited

for the first time”


August 02, 2015, The Guardian & Observer, UK

“Spectacular ancient Egyptian treasures are to be exhibited for the first time having been discovered underwater in the submerged ruins of the near-legendary cities of Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus.

A finely sculpted statuette of a pharaoh and a golden-eyed depiction of god Osiris are among antiquities to be unveiled in a major exhibition in Paris from next month.

The cities were almost erased from mankind’s memory after sinking beneath the waves in the eighth century AD following cataclysmic natural disasters including an earthquake and tidal waves.

Across a vast site in Aboukir Bay near Alexandria, the seabed has been giving up secrets from a lost world in an excavation led by Franck Goddio, a French marine archaeologist.”

[Read The Full Story]


[Great story and incredible underwater photos. Must go to Paris to see the
exhibition. We highly recommend you follow the links to see the many photos – Ed.]


 



“Armada artefacts taken from seabed”


June 17, 2015, Belfast Telegraph, N. Ireland

“Severe winter storms over the last two years are believed to have led to the recent discovery of relics from the Spanish Armada off the Irish coast.

A number of cannons from the merchant vessel La Juliana have been found in sands off Streedagh in Co Sligo since timbers from the exposed wreck began washing ashore in April.

The guns date back to 1588 but are said to be in excellent condition.

Two have been taken off the seabed with archaeologists discovering that one bears a dedication to and depiction of St Matrona, a saint particularly venerated by the people of Catalonia and Barcelona.”

[Read The Full Story]


[Makes you wonder what else is on the seabed off Ireland – Ed.]


 



“Byzantine Ship Wreck Discovered in Black Sea”


June 01, 2015, Greek Reporter, Greece

“The wreck of a large Byzantine ship, dating from the 10th century and filled with amphorae, was discovered by divers off the coast of Sevastopol in Crimea.

The shipwreck was discovered by a Russian archaeological submarine mission in the Black Sea.

It is a long vessel, with a length greater than 100 meters and it has been in excellent condition and very likely to belong to the Byzantine period.

Archaeologists believe that this might be the largest Byzantine ship that has been discovered so far.”

[Read The Full Story]


[Nice find – Ed.]


 



“Malaysia Airlines MH370:

Search for missing aircraft turns up shipwreck in Indian Ocean”


May 13, 2015, ABC News, Australia

“The search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has turned up the unexpected discovery of a shipwreck on the sea floor of the southern Indian Ocean.

Flight MH370 disappeared without a trace in March last year while on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board, but is believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean off Australia’s west coast.

Though it sank in less than 40 feet of water, the Encarnación somehow escaped major looting and is surprisingly well-preserved, with the bottom half of its hull intact thanks to burial in the seafloor.

Four vessels owned by Dutch engineering firm Fugro, equipped with sophisticated underwater drones, have already searched more than 60 per cent of the previously unmapped 60,000-square-kilometre expanse of sea floor.

Last month the search area was doubled.

This week the Joint Agency Coordination Centre said the wreck of a ship had been found about 4 kilometres below the surface and more than 1,000kms off Western Australia.”

[Read The Full Story]


[An incredible discovery with good images and well worth reading the full story – Ed.]


 



“Rare Spanish Shipwreck From 17th Century

Uncovered Off Panama”


May 12, 2015, National Geographic News, USA

“Archaeologists searching for real-life pirates of the Caribbean stumbled on a mysterious shipwreck in 2011. Now after years of historical detective work, they know what they discovered.

In 1681, the Spanish merchant ship Encarnación sank during a storm near the mouth of the Chagres River on the Caribbean side of Panama. Built in Veracruz, Mexico, the cargo vessel was part of the Tierra Firme fleet, the economic lifeline of 17th-century Spain.

Though it sank in less than 40 feet of water, the Encarnación somehow escaped major looting and is surprisingly well-preserved, with the bottom half of its hull intact thanks to burial in the seafloor.

The Encarnación gives a rare glimpse of a major shift in world history during the colonial era, says Filipe Castro, a nautical archaeologist at Texas A&M University.

‘It is the rise of capitalism, imperialism, rationalism, and the middle classes that are going to buy art and consume literature.'”

[Read The Full Story]


[A good story and some great pics of the ship and finds. Well worth a visit – Ed.]


 



“Explorers say pirate Captain Kidd’s treasure

found off Madagascar”


May 08, 2015, Seychelles News Agency / AFP, Seychelles

“A team of American explorers on Thursday claimed to have discovered silver treasure from the infamous 17th-century Scottish pirate William Kidd in a shipwreck off the coast of Madagascar.

Marine archaeologist Barry Clifford told reporters he had found a 50-kilogramme (110-pound) silver bar in the wreck of Kidd’s ship the ‘Adventure Gallery’, close to the small island of Sainte Marie.

But UNESCO, the United Nations’ cultural body, immediately criticised Clifford’s methods and said he may have damaged a precious archeological site in his hunt for treasure.

Captain Kidd, who was born in Scotland in about 1645, was first employed by British authorities to hunt pirates, before he himself turned into a ruthless criminal of the high seas.

After looting a ship laden with valuable cargo in 1698, he was caught, imprisoned and questioned by the British parliament before being executed in Wapping, close to the River Thames, in 1701.”

[Read The Full Story]


[Great pic of the silver – Ed.]


 



“Archaeologists excavate stone building materials during

Xisha underwater survey”


May 06, 2015, ECNS, China

“A team of Chinese archaeologists embarked on one of the country’s largest underwater surveys in mid-April, in the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea.

The 25 underwater archaeologists are equipped with a 900-ton archaeological vessel and four auxiliary vessels.

The survey is focused on Yongle Atoll, which is located to the west of Xisha Islands.

And the crew has found a substantial amount of stone building material and carvings at the site.

These artifacts contain a wealth of historical information and valuable proof of the ancient Maritime Silk Route.”

[Read The Full Story]


[Great pics of the discoveries – Ed.]


 



“Treasure-Filled Wreck Found in Finland”


May 05, 2015, Discovery News, USA

“A fabulous sunken treasure may be recovered off Finland coast as archaeologist divers say they have found the wreck of a legendary 15th-century vessel.

According to historic documents, the Hanneke Wrome was one of two ships that left Luebeck, Germany, for Tallinn, Estonia, on Nov. 11, 1468.

Strong east winds, actually very rare in Finland, caught both vessels.

While the other ship managed to get to Tallinn, the Hanneke Wrome went down in the storm with more than 200 passengers and crew.

‘It was one of the major maritime casualties of the time and it wasn’t the only one to occur on that route’, team leader Rauno Koivusaari said.”


[Read The Full Story]


 



“Did Atlantis really exist on the Moroccan coast?”


March 16, 2015, Daily Times, Pakistan

“For centuries, historians, archaeologists and scuba divers have sought – and failed over and over again – to find Atlantis, the glorious ancient metropolis that was lost beneath the waves, the
New York Post reports.

But what if the wave was lost beneath the city?

That is, what if the ‘sunken’ metropolis was, in fact, only sunken briefly by a tsunami wave, which wreaked colossal destruction before receding back to the sea?

That’s the hypothesis of German computer whiz Michael Hubner.

He believed what remains of the ruins of the ancient city is, in fact, sitting in plain sight above the Atlantic on the dry, crumbly coastline of Morocco.”

[Read The Full Story]


[This story was aloso covered by

Daily Mail Online, which had many interesting photos and maps of the area in near the Morocco coastline – Ed.]


 



“Ancient shipwrecks discovered in Jeddah”


February 17, 2015, The Jerusalem Post, Israel

“Saudi and German archaeologists have discovered two ancient shipwrecks along the Jeddah coast, in a joint project between the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) and the Philipps University of Marburg in Germany.

This was revealed recently at a lecture organized by the German Consulate in Jeddah. Michaela Reinfeld, a German archaeologist who spoke at the event, had been part of the dive team that made the find.

The Roman ship discovered is the oldest archaeologically documented shipwreck found along the Saudi Arabian coast, she said.

The other ship dates to the early Islamic era. There was also an ancient jetty found, she said.”

[Read The Full Story]


 



“Divers in Caesarea find largest treasure of gold coins ever discovered in Israel”


February 17, 2015, The Jerusalem Post, Israel

“The largest collection of gold coins yet discovered in Israel was found in recent weeks on the seabed in the ancient harbor in Caesarea National Park, the Antiquities Authority said.

A group of divers from the diving club in the harbor reported the find to the Antiquities Authority whose officials then went with the divers to the location with a metal detector and uncovered almost 2,000 gold coins from the Fatimid period (11th century CE) in various denominations: dinars, half dinars and quarter dinars, of various dimensions and weight.

Kobi Sharvit, director of the Marine Archeology Unit at the Antiquities Authority, said on Tuesday there is likely a wreck near the find of an official Fatimid treasury ship that was on its way to the central government in Cairo with tax revenue.”

[Read The Full Story]


 



“Rare shipwreck excavated off Paralimni”


February 11, 2015, Cyprus Mail, Cyprus

“First underwater excavations on a rare shipwreck off Paralimni have revealed a small part of the side of the hull to be in a good state of preservation while several moveable finds included wooden rigging-elements, pistol bullets, ceramics, glass tableware and bricks, the antiquities department said on Wednesday.

The shipwreck, Nissia, which the department said probably dates to the late Ottoman period, is located 28 metres below sea level.

‘It is the only shipwreck of this period known in Cyprus, and one of the few that are under investigation in the eastern Mediterranean’, it said.

The excavations, which took place over a two-week period in September last year, were conducted by the Maritime Archaeological Research Laboratory (MARELab) of the Archaeological Research Unit of the University of Cyprus, under the direction of Dr Stella Demesticha, in collaboration with the department of antiquities.

It said the shipwreck was known among divers since the 1980s and due to its location and depth is easily accessible. However this resulted in it being transformed into ‘an uncontrolled recreation spot’, UCY said.

‘This resulted in destruction and looting, and the subsequent destruction of valuable archaeological evidence.'”

[Read The Full Story]


[This story highlights the problems caused by looters, and we can only repeat our plea for divers who discover archaeological remains underwater or on land to please report the finds immediately to the relevant authorities wherever they are in the world.

In the case of Cyprus this is the
Department of Antiquities, and any archaeological finds should be reported directly to them – Ed.]


 



“Blackbeard’s Booty: Pirate Ship Yields Medical Supplies”


January 26, 2015, Live Science, USA

“Archaeologists are excavating the vessel that served as the flagship of the pirate Blackbeard, and the medical equipment they have recovered from the shipwreck suggests the notorious buccaneer had to toil to keep his crew healthy.

Blackbeard is the most famous pirate who ever lived. His real name was Edward Teach (or possibly Thatch), and his flagship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, was formerly a French slave vessel named La Concorde de Nantesthat Blackbeard captured in November 1717.

Blackbeard was able to capture this ship easily because much of its crew was either sick or dead due to disease.

The wreck of the Queen Anne’s Revenge was rediscovered in 1996 and has been under excavation by the Queen Anne’s Revenge Project.

Archaeologists have recovered many artifacts, including a number of medical instruments.

These artifacts, combined with historical records, paint a picture of a pirate captain who tried to keep his crew in fighting shape.”

[Read The Full Story]


 



“UWF gets grant to explore sunken fleet”


January 13, 2015, Pensacola News Journal, USA

“The University of West Florida Archaeology Institute recently received a special category grant totaling more than $290,000 from the Florida Division of Historical Resources to explore a Spanish fleet associated with Tristan de Luna from the 1500s, the university announced in a news release.

The archaeological remains of the Spanish ships, located in Pensacola Bay, are the oldest documented in Florida waters.

According to the terms of the matching grant, UWF archaeologists will conduct fieldwork, laboratory analysis, artifact conservation and curation, archival research in Spain and public outreach for two years.

Dr. Gregory Cook, assistant professor of anthropology, and Dr. John Bratten, associate professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology, will serve as principal and co-principal investigators, respectively.

‘The Emanuel Point shipwrecks represent an incredible laboratory for UWF students and archaeologists’, Bratten said.

‘More than 4,000 artifacts have been recovered from the two Spanish vessels including pottery, food remains and cooking implements. Undoubtedly, the most important artifacts are the ships’ hulls’.

‘Continued documentation of the buried timbers in the form of detailed drawings and photographs permits a detailed reconstruction of this 16th-century colonization fleet.'”

[Read The Full Story]


 



“Rare Metal Found In Ancient Sunken Ship”


January 10, 2015, International Business Times AU, Australia

“Underwater explorers have discovered unidentified pieces of cast metals from a shipwreck that dates back 2,600 years ago.

Italian archaeologist Sebastiano Tusa told Discovery News that the collection of 39 ingots found on the seabed is a unique find and believes that these may be the mythical metal, orichalcum.

To determine the composition of the 39 ingots, the archaeological team had the cast metals undergo x-ray fluorescence analysis.

It turns out that the metals are composed mainly of copper and zinc with small traces of iron, nickel and lead.

The discovery of these metals implies the presence of artisan workshops in the coastal town of Gela in southern Sicily, which flourished during the time of Greek colonisation in 689 B.C.”

[Read The Full Story]


 



“Atlantis’ Legendary Metal Found in Shipwreck”


January 06, 2015, Discovery News, USA
“Gleaming cast metal called orichalcum, which was said by Ancient Greeks to be found in Atlantis, has been recovered from a ship that sunk 2,600 years ago off the coast of Sicily.

The lumps of metal were arriving to Gela in southern Sicily, possibly coming from Greece or Asia Minor.

The ship that was carrying them was likely caught in a storm and sunk just when it was about to enter the port.

‘The wreck dates to the first half of the sixth century’, Sebastiano Tusa, Sicily’s superintendent of the Sea Office, told Discovery News.

‘It was found about 1,000 feet from Gela’s coast at a depth of 10 feet.'”

[Read The Full Story]



[A very interesting story and well worth a visit to their site – Ed.]

 


 


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“From Graham Hancock, bestselling author of Fingerprints of the Gods, comes a mesmerizing book that takes us on a captivating underwater voyage to find the ruins of a lost civilization that’s been hidden for thousands of years beneath the world’s oceans. While Graham Hancock is no stranger to stirring up heated controversy among scientific experts, his books and television documentaries have intrigued millions of people around the world and influenced many to rethink their views about the origins of human civilization.


Now he returns with an explosive new work of archaeological detection. In Underworld, Hancock continues his remarkable quest underwater, where, according to almost a thousand ancient myths from every part of the globe, the ruins of a lost civilization, obliterated in a universal flood, are to be found.”




“Heaven’s Mirror”

by
Graham Hancock




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Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk


Hancock’s chief thesis in

“Heaven’s Mirror”
is that numerous ancient sites and monuments – the pyramids of Mexico and Egypt, the ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the monuments of Yonaguni in the Pacific, and the megaliths of Peru and Bolivia – are situated in such a way, geodetically, that they point towards some separate and uniform influence, some lost civilization or “invisible college” of astronomer-priests.



Japan’s Mysterious Pyramids:
Yonaguni-jima

Only Available
On NTSC DVD


Do undersea relics near Okinawa offer proof of a sophisticated civilization during the last ice age?




“Eden in the East: The Drowned Continent of Southeast Asia”

by

Stephen Oppenheimer


an image/link direct to this product at amazon.com


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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 S.E. 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”


please left-click to go directly the interview with Professor Masaaki Kimura



exclusive


June 2002
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”


please left-click to go directly the interview with Dr Paul Weinzweig




“Maritime Archaeology:
A Technical Handbook”

by

Jeremy Green


an image/link direct to this product at amazon.com


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“Jeremy Green’s systematic overview of maritime archaeology offers a step-by-step description of this fast-growing field.


With new information about the use of computers and Global Positioning Systems, the second edition of this handbook shows how to extract as much information as possible from a site, how to record and document the data, and how to act ethically and responsibly with the artifacts.


Treating underwater archaeology as a discipline, the book demonstrates how archaeologists, ‘looters’, academics, and governments interact and how the market for archaeological artifacts creates obstacles and opportunities for these groups.


Well illustrated and comprehensive in its approach to the subject, this book provides an essential foundation for everybody interested in underwater environments, submerged land structures, and conditions created by sea level changes.”




“Discoveries:
Underwater Archaeology”

by

Jean-Yves Blot
&
Alexandra Campbell


an image/link direct to this product at amazon.com


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“Some of the most exciting archaeological discoveries aren’t made by Indiana Jones wannabes prowling through the jungle in search of forgotten cities or by Egyptologists looking for lost passageways in the pyramids.


They are found by divers exploring shipwrecks such as the Titanic and the U.S.S. Monitor.


Every now and then they even uncover the remains of human settlements sleeping beneath the waves.


Underwater Archaeology is an inexpensive and colorful book about the people who do this work and what they sometimes bring to the surface–a great introduction to the subject.


It is another fine title in the Discoveries series of books published by Harry N. Abrams.”




“Man: 12, 000 Years Under the Sea
a Story of Underwater Archaeology”

by

Robert F. Burgess
&
George F. Bass


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Get This Book From:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk


“Man: 12,000 Years Under the Sea is the dramatic story of underwater archaeology.


The work looks back at Greek divers’ discovery of ancient statues in the sea, and covers the history of marine archaeology to the present, including the recovery of Ice Age Man’s 12,000-year-old remains from the bottom of Florida springs.


Burgess writes from his experience for an assured exciting read.


In Man: 12,000 Years Under the Sea Robert Burgess gives us a peak at . . . the work done by sponge divers, treasure hunters and underwater archaeologists.


The excitement and hazard of underwater exploration is so clearly described that I was tempted to get a diving suit to join them. This book is more than intriguing, it is a necessity.”




“Encyclopedia of Underwater and Maritime Archaeology”

by

James P. Delgado
(Editor)


an image/link direct to this product at amazon.com


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Amazon.co.uk


“This encyclopedia is the first comprehensive reference book on the discovery and recovery of underwater archaeological remains around the world and across time.


Written by archaeologists and other scientists who have made the discoveries, it offers a wealth of authoritative and accessible information on shipwrecks, drowned cities, ritual deposits, and other relics of our submerged past.


The volume’s 450 alphabetically arranged entries cover sites from prehistory to the modern era (including Titanic), legislation and legal issues, organizations, nations and regions, research themes, and technology and techniques.


Length generally ranges from two paragraphs for reef netting and Southampton Centre for Maritime Archaeology to about four pages for Great Lakes and remote sensing.


More than 100 illustrations in color are complemented by more than 200 black-and-white drawings and photos.


Most entries append a bibliography, usually of recent books, journal articles especially from the leading journal of the discipline, International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, and professional conference papers.”




“Submerged Cultural Resource Management: Preserving and Interpreting Our Sunken
Maritime Heritage”


James D. Spirek
(Editor)
&
Della A. Scott-Ireton
(Editor)


an image/link direct to this product at amazon.com



EU English Edition


“This vital book is a collection on the various ways archaeologists and resource managers have devised to make available and interpret submerged cultural resources for the public, such as underwater archaeological preserves, shipwreck trails, and land-based interpretive media and literature.


The concept of preserves, parks, and trails has proven to be an effective and popular method of public education and heritage tourism with the end result being a greater public understanding of the value of preserving and protecting shipwrecks, and other submerged cultural resources, for the future.


Within each contribution, the authors focus on: legislation; economic benefits; interpretation methods; problems and successes; future directions regarding their preserve, park, or trail programs.


Various approaches to the concept have been explored and this book is an effort to make available our experiences in the management of submerged cultural resources for the public.


This volume is an invaluable resource to underwater archaeologists, cultural and heritage resource managers, museum and heritage educators and those studying these professions.”




“Successful Underwater Photography”

by

Brian Skerry
&

Howard Hall


an image/link direct to this product at amazon.com



EU English Edition


“From fundamental principles of photographing marine life to making a living selling underwater photographs, Successful Underwater Photography provides an unlimited wealth of practical advice, surefire strategies, and tested tips for taking extraordinary photos of elusive underwater subjects.


Written by two top photographers who specialize in marine photography, this solid, lavishly illustrated field guide provides no-nonsense information on such topics as taking available-light photographs, silhouettes, marine wildlife portraits, close-focus wide angle photographs, and extension tube photographs to name just a few.


Readers will also find proven guidance for purchasing underwater photographic equipment, taking photos of shipwrecks, and repairing and maintaining field equipment.”




“Digital Imaging for the
Underwater Photographer”

by

Jack Drafhal
&
Sue Drafhal


an image/link direct to this product at amazon.com



EU English Edition


“How to Solve Common Problems, Repair Images and Create Dazzling Presentations; Focusing on the aspects of digital imaging that are most important to underwater photographers, this book is a step-by-step guide for the professional and amateur alike to improve their images and presentations.


Designed to help the underwater photographer make a smooth transition to digital imaging, this book discusses how to digitally refine, correct, and enhance underwater photographs.


Detailing the equipment necessary, it also includes a discussion on the essentials of scanning.


There is also extensive information on Adobe Photoshop, and how it can be used to edit underwater pictures.”




“Beneath the Seven Seas: Adventures with the Institute of Nautical Archaeology”

by

George F. Bass


an image/link direct to this product at amazon.com



EU English Edition


“Readers will dive nearly 200 feet with Cemal Pulak on a royal ship that sank over 3,300 years ago off the Aegean coast of Turkey, and explore with Donny Hamilton the streets and houses of the richest English colony in the New World, the infamous pirate stronghold of Port Royal, Jamaica, swallowed by the sea in 1692.


They will accompany famed undersea explorer Robert Ballard, discoverer of the Titanic, as he and Cheryl Ward search for shipwrecks in the deep, oxygen-free waters of the Black Sea.


They will wade with archaeologist Fred Hocker through mud along the bank of a South Carolina river, and then sail through a gale with Susan Womer Katzev on a full-scale replica of the best-preserved ancient Greek ship yet raised from the depths of the Mediterranean.


The book describes the tragic loss, within sight of their loved ones, of seamen returning home to Portugal in 1606, at the end of a two-year voyage to the East on the Nossa Senhora dos Martires, and then describes the fate of the crew of another Portuguese ship, the Santo Antonio de Tanna, which sank off Mombasa, Kenya, while trying to lift the siege of Fort Jesus by Omani Arabs in 1697.”

 

 


History’s Mysteries


“Do undersea relics near Okinawa offer proof of a sophisticated civilization during the last ice age? Archeologists have long believed that civilization as we define it — intelligent, tool-making, monument building, social humans — began about 5,000 years ago. But submerged beneath the waves near the Japanese island of Yonaguni is evidence that may well overturn that long-held theory.


A small but persuasive number of scholars and scientists have long thought that “advanced” societies may have existed as long as 10,000 years ago. Their theories, however well reasoned and defended, have been hamstrung by a lack of evidence. But recent discoveries of man-made artifacts on the Pacific seafloor may well prove to be the smoking gun that will propel this alternative view of civilization to prominence”.


see the evidence with ‘unique underwater footage’ of the Yonaguni structures
in the new DVD of the ‘History Channel’ television programme


“Japan’s Mysterious Pyramids”
Only Available On NTSC DVD

 


Google

 
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please take a look at our
Ancient Mysteries Bookshoppe for a wide selection of books
that challenge orthodox views of prehistory on every continent


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The Morien Institute