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 archæologists. 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?”
…
December 01, 2012, Arirang News, South Korea
“Here off the southern coast of Korea near Jindo Island, Korean archaeologists have made a significant find, one that provides a glimpse of Korea’s rich cultural history. Rare artifacts were uncovered deep on the ocean floor, perfectly preserved for centuries.
The National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage recently revealed their finds to the public, with 16th-century Korean guns as the showcased centerpiece.
Over 70 fragments of pale blue-green ceramics were also found in the underwater wreckage.
Estimates date them back to the late 12th century and early 13th century during the Goryeo Dynasty.”
[Full Story]
November 08, 2012, The Conversation, Australia
“Vietnam has thousands of kilometres of coastline, and may have thousands of shipwrecks.
Many of these wrecks would be loaded with archaeologically fascinating and significant items.
But the country has struggled to preserve its underwater cultural heritage.
To date the protection and preservation of Vietnam’s underwater cultural heritage, such as shipwrecks, has had a low priority.
Vietnam has a very long coastline (more than 2,000km) and seafaring activity has been extensive for at least 2,000 years.
Vietnam is centrally located in South East Asia and was on the “Maritime Silk route” that ran from China to the west via the South China Sea.”
[Full Story]
October 06, 2012, The Cyprus Mail, Cyprus
“A grandson of Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan’s realm stretched from the Pacific Ocean to the Black Sea, covering a fifth of the known world.
In 1279, he became the first non-Chinese emperor, establishing the Yuan Dynasty and ruling over China, present-day Mongolia, Korea and other Asian regions.
But his ambition to occupy more lands led to one of his worst defeats when he sent his warships to invade Vietnam in 1288.
Now, 725 years later, Australian archaeologists are helping excavate the site where the mighty Kublai Khan’s invasion fleet of 400 was destroyed by the Vietnamese.
They had lured the Mongols up the Bach Dang River just as the tide was starting to ebb.
The Vietnam army had driven hundreds of sharpened wooden stakes into the bed of the river that were invisible at high tide; when the tide turned and began to ebb, the entire fleet was holed and sunk, captured or burnt by fire arrows.”
[Full Story]
October 08, 2012, ANSAmed, Italy
“Two ancient Roman shipwrecks, complete with their cargo, have been discovered by Italian archaeologists off the coast of Turkey near the ancient Roman city of Elaiussa Sebaste.
The ships, one dating from the Roman Imperial period and the other from about the sixth century AD, have been found with cargoes of amphorae and marble, say researchers from the Italian Archaeological Mission of Rome’s University La Sapienza.”
[Full Story]
October 06, 2012, The Cyprus Mail, Cyprus
“Latest underwater excavations on the 2,350-year-old Mazotos shipwreck have established that the keel, and at least 15 metres of the ancient vessel’s planking has been preserved, the Antiquities Department said yesterday
‘This is of prime importance, as it places this wreck among the very few in the Mediterranean that can provide information on shipbuilding during the Classical period’, an announcement said.
It also said that during this year’s excavations archaeologists were also able to shed some new light on trade in antiquity, another important domain of maritime archaeology
‘Together with the Chian wine amphorae, the ship’s main cargo, a secondary type was also transported on the Mazotos ship: wine jugs, which were stowed among the amphorae found in the aft part of the hold.’
‘Furthermore, small fine ware pottery was recovered from the stern cabin, which was also partly excavated’, the department said. “
[Full Story]
October 01, 2012, VietNamNet Bridge, Viet Nam
“Over three decades ago, a scrap merchant got an ‘amazingly’ high price for a ceramic item he found on the bed of the Huong (Perfume) River in the former imperial city of Hue.
Since then, several divers joined the business of searching for antiques on the riverbed, and many precious items have been found.
Nguyen Van Can and Pham Van Thuan are among these antique seekers, and both of them have over 20 years of experience on the job.
They say the Huong River is over 100km long but the antiques are to be found on a 20km stretch in the lower reaches that run from Long Tho Hill to the Thuan An Estuary.
Different sections of this stretch hold different groups of antiques, they say.”
[Full Story]
September 14, 2012, Athens News, Greece
“Undaunted by the adversities of the economic crisis in this country, a local group of dedicated archaeological researchers continues to probe the hidden secrets and rich maritime history of the Greek seas.
During the summer the sites of six previously undocumented ancient shipwrecks were located by the Southern Euboean Gulf Survey (SEGS), under the direction of nautical archaeologist George Koutsouflakis of the Greek Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities (EUA), as first announced on July 25 by the newly consolidated Hellenic Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, Culture and Sports.
Although underwater archaeological investigations usually require larger operating budgets and greater commitments from sponsors and private benefactors than land research projects, Koutsouflakis’ continued efforts and success in learning more about ancient sea traffic and trade patterns around the coasts of southern Evia confirm the old adage that where there is a will, there is a way.
The 2012 campaign, conducted from June 25 to July 8, focused on the coastal waters of Makronissos Island and an area north of ancient Thorikos near the southern tip of Attica.
The wide Evian Straits, between Evia Island and the east coast of Attica, were an important link between the northern and southern Aegean, a major sea lane heavily used by many commercial ships, especially during the Hellenistic and Roman eras (late 4th c BC to 4th c AD).
Makronissos proved to be a particularly rich hunting ground, according to Koutsouflakis, since three of the wreck sites discovered there appear extraordinarily well preserved and may contain the actual remains of the wooden ships, themselves buried beneath their mounded, concreted cargoes of transport amphorae, the distinctive ceramic containers usually used for the bulk shipment of foodstuffs, especially wine and olive oil.”
[Full Story]
August 21, 2012, Gazzetta del Sud, Italy
“Archaeologists are investigating the discovery of a gilded bronze lion found off the coast of Calabria not far from where the famed Riace Bronzes were discovered 40 years ago.
Armour in bronze and copper was also found by a diver and two tourists in the area that is now closed to the public as investigators probe the details of the find.
One of the divers who made the discovery said there may be a ship and other important artifacts there as well.
‘When I went into the water, I saw a statue that was stuck between the rocks and a piece of the ship’, explained Bruno Bruzzaniti.
‘The tides, however, cover everything and then you must be really fortunate to be able to see other items that are still at the bottom of the sea.'” [Full Story]
August 20, 2012, The Voice of Russia, Russia
“An ancient merchant ship has been discovered under Taman Bay near the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.
About 13 centuries ago, the vessel left Byzantium and then sank off Phanagoria, the largest Greek colony on the Taman peninsula.
At the time, Phanagoria was said to be the biggest economic and cultural center in the Mediterranean.
Russian archaeologists will have tougher times ahead trying to shed light on the sinking of the vessel. It is still unclear why there only one amphora was on board and what happened to the cargo.
Scientists are yet to found out the name of the ship which has already been called the most valuable artifact in 12 years.
Phanagoria had been an essential part of Byzantium for several centuries and then it became the first capital of Bulgaria and subsequently one of the largest cities of the Khazarian Empire.
Right now, one third of this ancient city is submerged by the sea, which is why many refer to Phanagoria as ‘Russian Atlantis.'” [Full Story]
August 20, 2012, TruthDive, USA
“Salvage operations started on an ancient ship, which belonged to Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) ship that sank 500 years ago on Thursday.
The ancient merchant vessel sank off the coast of southeast China’s Guangdong province.
The merchant ship was loaded with porcelain, copper coins and other rare antiques. The ship is said to have been loaded for the Philippines and Malaysia, Cui said. Guangdong was a major centre for sea trade in ancient China.
Local fishermen found the wrecked ship, 25 metres long and seven metres wide, in May 2007. It was buried in silt 27 metres underwater and about 11 km from the coast.
Experts said the salvaged antiques from the Nan’ao-1 provide sufficient evidence that the “Maritime Silk Road” once existed in the South China Sea. It was named “Nanhai No.1,” meaning South China Sea No.1.” [Full Story]
June 09, 2012, Gulf Times, Qatar
“The discovery of archaeological remains predating 8,000 years ago in the North Sea and English Channel suggest that the Arabian Gulf also has a similar potential for the favourable survival of sites or organic deposits, Qatar National Historical Environmental Record Project co-director Richard Cuttler told Gulf Times.
QNHER is being developed as part of the Remote Sensing Project, a joint initiative between the Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) under the guidance of head of antiquities Faisal al-Naimi, and the University of Birmingham, where Cuttler is a research fellow.
The Arabian Gulf is a fairly shallow sea and during the Last Glacial Maximum, which occurred about 18,000 years ago, sea levels were more than 100 metres lower than today, explained Cuttler.
This meant that up until 8,000 years ago much of the Gulf was an open landscape with large lakes and a river which was formerly the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.” [Full Story]
June 05, 2012, Irish Times, Ireland
“A leading marine archaeologist has described as “absolutely incredible” some of the initial exotic findings on a shipwreck recently discovered off the west Cork coast.
South sea coconuts and Iberian pottery have so far been recovered by Julianna O’Donoghue and her underwater archaeology team from the wreck, which may have been a pirate ship dating from the late 16th or 17th century.
The uncharted vessel was located last month during archaeological monitoring of dredging for the Schull waste water treatment plant.
The monitoring is requested by the National Monuments Service underwater archaeology unit as a condition of planning and foreshore licensing.”
May 31, 2012, The Hinckley Times, England
“Divers at Stoney Cove will be able to cast a glance over a 400-year old shipwreck from next week.
The remains of the 16th century Gresham Ship will be laid to rest when it is dropped into the lake after it is driven on a low-loader up to the diving centre tomorrow.
After being discovered in the Thames in 2003, the Elizabethan vessel was moved to a lake in Hampshire where it was temporarily stored underwater.
Now, after extensive research by archaeologists, the merchantman, which could have fought in the Spanish Armada, will be laid to rest on the floor of Stoney Cove.” [Full Story]
April 14, 2012, ScienceNordic, Denmark
“Stone Age people didn’t only use tools made out of rock – they also used tools made from wood and antlers, according to a new discovery in Danish waters.
The Stone Age settlement has been hidden under water and a thick layer of sand over millennia. But over the past few years, sea currents have exposed it by pushing the seabed aside.
The village lies deep underwater by the coast in Horsens Fjord, Denmark.
Archaeologists have known about the site since the ’70s, but due to the inaccessibility, it wasn’t until a recent trip to the site by an archaeology student at Aarhus University that something started to stir.” [Full Story]
This film shows the paddles being cleaned at the Moesgård Museum
April 01, 2012, The Observer, UK
“Trawlerman Dennis Hunt was crossing Colwyn Bay in his boat in 1995 when its nets snagged on the seabed. Unable to free them, Hunt contacted diver Keith Hurley, who swam 60ft down to the sea floor – and found that the nets were caught on a rusting submarine’s conning tower.
Hunt and Hurley had found the Resurgam, one of Britain’s first submarines, which sank in 1880. It was a key historical discovery but certainly not a first for fishermen.
Every day hundreds of items, ranging from Spitfire engines to ancient stone tools, are dragged up by fishing vessels while wreck sites are revealed after nets become snagged on sunken craft.
As fishing intensifies, more discoveries are being made this way, a process that threatens to run out of control. As a result, English Heritage will launch a pilot scheme this month that aims to keep in order the avalanche of historical finds now produced by our fishermen.” [Full Story]
March 01, 2012, Latin American Herald Tribune, Venezuela
“A team of Brazilian archaeologists and divers who discovered the remains of a Spanish vessel off the southern state of Santa Catarina say the recovered fragments correspond to a shipwreck that occurred in 1583.
The recovered pieces and the documentary review indicate the wreck was a supply ship for a fleet that left Spain in 1581 on a mission to build two forts on the Strait of Magellan to stymie the advance of English pirates menacing Madrid’s territories in the New World.
Historical documents make mention of the Jan. 7, 1583 shipwreck off Brazil’s coast. The shipwreck was located in an area off the Pinheira and Sonho beaches near Florianopolis, Santa Catarina’s capital.” [Full Story]
February 10, 2012, Hawkesbury Gazette, Australia
“MORE than 3500 years ago, before it disappeared under the waves, Pavlopetri was a thriving town in Greece. It had two-storey homes, well-built streets, courtyards, tombs, and warehouses.
Today it lies beneath up to four metres of water, a fate that may have helped inspire the legend of Atlantis.
But the secrets of this lost city – the world’s oldest submerged settlement – are at last being revealed with the help of ‘revolutionary’ underwater imaging technology developed by Sydney scientists at the Australian Centre for Field Robotics.
To assist archaeologists excavating the ancient ruin, the team have used an autonomous underwater vehicle with stereo cameras, as well as a diver-pushed rig, to produce photo-realistic 3D recreations of the seafloor site.” [Full Story]
February 10, 2012, Ibiza Spotlight, Spain
“Spotlight has featured many stories of archaeological finds and remnants of ancient civilisations which have been unearthed during building projects.
The plans for the new Parador in Dalt Vila have been modified to accommodate many remains which have been found there and a new school planned on a former car park in the town centre is months behind schedule whilst archaeologists complete investigations on site.
Now, a new find has been made during the dredging process of Botafoch harbour. A 17th century ship was uncovered during the operations and already many relics – including two bronze canons – have been brought to the surface for study and eventual housing in a museum.” [Full Story]
February 09, 2012, The Atlantic Cities, USA
“The world’s oldest known underwater city lies frozen in time beneath 3 to 13 feet of water off the southern coast of Greece.
Since the ocean swallowed it around 1,000 BC, the infrastructure of Pavlopetri has remained eerily intact. Streets snake around more than a dozen buildings, courtyards and tombs built from uncut limestone and eolianite.
Archaeological dating indicates that the settlement of perhaps 500 to 2,000 souls has lain in peace this way since the Early Bronze Age in 3,000 BC, although boat anchors occasionally rake through and stir up whirlwinds of debris.” [Full Story]
February 01, 2012, The Guardian, UK
“It is one of the greatest underwater treasure troves of all time, a glittering haul of gold and silver recovered from a mysterious sunken Spanish galleon and secretly flown across the Atlantic to the US.
But now an epic battle over ownership of 594,000 gold and silver coins scattered on the ocean floor has ended with victory for the Spanish government, with the American treasure-hunter Odyssey Marine Exploration ordered to send the valuable haul back home.
A jubilant Spanish government announced on Wednesday that the $500m-worth (£308m) of gold and silver coins found at a site that Odyssey called “Black Swan” would be back on Spanish soil within 10 days.” [Full Story]
Below are some Underwater Discoveries made in 2011
January 22, 2012, The Guardian, UK
“The remains of the first HMS Victory are to be raised from the sea bed nearly 300 years after it sank, it has been reported.
The vessel, predecessor of Nelson’s famous flagship, went down in a storm off the Channel Islands in 1744, taking more than 1,000 sailors to their deaths.
Along with a bronze cannon collection, some believe the ship was carrying a large quantity of gold coins from Lisbon to Britain that would now be worth a reported £500m.” [Full Story]
January 16, 2012, The Birmingham News, USA
“A battle over historic artifacts hidden below the surface of Alabama’s rivers, lakes and bays is surfacing in advance of the opening of Legislature’s 2012 regular session on Feb. 7.
Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, has introduced a bill to amend the Alabama Cultural Resources Act, a law that requires underwater explorers to get a permit from the Alabama Historical Commission before going after submerged wrecks and relics.
In Ward’s version, the law would still require permits for recovery of artifacts related to shipwrecks and would forbid disturbing Native American burial sites. But treasure hunters would otherwise be able to search state waters and keep what they find.” [Full Story]
Underwater Discoveries we were made aware of in 2011 are listed below
November 08, 2011, ABC News, Australia
“More than four centuries after English adventurer Sir Francis Drake went to his watery grave off Panama’s coast, archaeologists believe they have found two of the last ships he commanded.
In emerald Caribbean waters where the privateer is said to lie buried in a lead coffin, explorers using deep sea oil technology found three large ship sections offering strong clues that they belonged to Drake’s Elizabeth and Delight.
Famed for circumnavigating the globe and routing the Spanish Armada in 1588, Drake is also remembered as a slaver and pirate who acted with the blessing of Queen Elizabeth I.
More than 24 metres of well-conserved hull sections dating back to Drake’s era show signs of having been run aground and burned to the water line, consistent with the tale of how his crew scuttled the vessels before returning to England.” [Full Story]
October 25, 2011, The Daily Telegraph, UK
“The wreck of a Mongolian ship presumed to have been part of a 13th century invasion fleet has been discovered beneath the seabed off southern Japan.
The vessel is the first of its kind to have been discovered relatively intact and dates from a series of attempts by Kublai Khan, emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, to subjugate Japan between 1274 and 1281.
Researchers have previously only been able to recover anchor stones and cannonballs from the scattered wrecks of the Mongol fleets and they believe that this latest find will shed new light on the maritime technology of the day.
The warship was located with ultrasonic equipment about 3 feet beneath the seabed at a depth of 75 feet.” [Full Story]
October 21, 2011, Popular Archaeology, USA
“A team of researchers led by the Department of Cultural Resources’ Underwater Archaeology Branch of North Carolina are preparing to recover an eight-foot, one-ton cannon as early as Wednesday, October 26, from the 300-year-old wreck of the notorious pirate Blackbeard’s flagship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge.
Encased in a cement-like concretion of sand, salt and sea life, the total encasement, along with the cannon, holds the promise of containing other artifacts.
The expectation is not unreasonable, as previous recoveries, which included 12 other cannons from the wreck, yielded artifacts from their concretions such as cannon shot, gun flints, and other items of life aboard the vessel.
The 300-ton flagship sank off Beaufort Inlet in North Carolina in 1718, intentionally run aground by Blackbeard (Edward Teach) after blockading Charleston Harbor and refusing to accept an offer of a pardon by the Governor of the colony.” [Full Story]
October 09, 2011, The Scotsman, Scotland
“The remains of a Neolithic stone circle that could rival the most impressive in Britain may have been found off the coast of Orkney.
Archaeologists surveying the seabed near the island chain’s famous Ring of Brodgar believe they could have discovered an earlier version just 500 metres offshore from the major tourist attraction.
Preliminary findings from an investigation seeking previously hidden historical sites in the area have raised hopes that prehistoric structures built up to 5,000 years ago have survived, even though they were submerged under the waves by rising sea levels.
Marine surveys – using remote sensing and seismic profiling techniques – have revealed “anomalies” which could be man-made structures around 12 feet under water.
Seismic images taken in the Loch of Stenness appear to show a large circular feature in the water south of the Ring of Brodgar, the third-largest stone circle in the British Isles after Avebury and Stanton Drew in England and thought to date back to 3000-2000BC.” [Full Story]
October 08, 2011, Science Daily, USA
“Just a few metres under the sea, off the southern coast of Greece, lies Pavlopetri — the oldest submerged city in the world.
A team of archaeologists from The University of Nottingham, working with the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture, has spent the last three years surveying the site which was first discovered in the late 1960’s.
This summer the city, which dates back over 5,000 years, became the first underwater city to be fully digitally mapped and recorded creating a highly detailed stone by stone plan in photo-realistic 3D.
In a ground breaking collaboration, movie industry CGI specialists were invited to be part of a research team in the field to use state-of-the-art computer graphics in combination with the archaeological survey data as it was recovered to help bring the ancient city back to life.”
September 19, 2011, Sail World, UK
“A mystery sunken sailing ship lying in 110 metres of water at the entrance to the Thames River is tipped to be a ship of the English Royal Africa Company, according to items retrieved from the vessel.
This is the conclusion of the discoverer of the items, Odyssey Marine Exploration, a world leader in deep-ocean shipwreck exploration.
Discovered during the Atlas Project, believed to be the most extensive shipwreck search operation ever launched encompassing 5,000 square miles of ocean in 2005/6, the significant items in the wreck were: An unmarked 17th-century tobacco pipe, Three glass bottle bases, A wooden folding rule, Manilla bracelets and… Elephant tusks.
An examination of these artifacts has established that the wreck is of a late 17th-century shipwreck that the company calls 35F.
Close study of the artifacts by Odyssey’s archaeological team has led to the hypothesis that the wreck may represent the westernmost example of a West African trader and the only example of this date known off the UK.” [Full Story]
September 12, 2011, Novinite, Bulgaria
“Massive ancient stone anchors were found by divers participating in an archaeological expedition near the southern Bulgarian Black Sea town of Sozopol.
The 200-kg beautifully ornamented anchors have two holes in them – one for the anchor rope and another one for a wooden stick. They were used for 150-200-ton ships that transported mainly wheat, but also dried and salted fish, skins, timber and metals from what now is Bulgaria’s coast.
The anchors’ shape suggests they were used by Creto-Mycanaean, Phoenician or Carian sailors in the 15th-12th centuries BC, which would refute the hypothesis that Greeks were the first Black Sea sailors starting the 12th century BC, the BGNES news agency points out” [Full Story]
September 2011 Edition, Bay Journal, USA
“Artifacts recovered from ship submerged in Patuxent suggest it could be the USS Scorpion.
The vessel was once part of “Barney’s Flotilla,” a small but scrappy collection of gunboats launched in 1814 to confront the British navy on the Chesapeake Bay. The superior British naval forces had run rampant through the Bay since the war began, raiding port towns and farmland at will.
Led by Commodore Joshua Barney, the flotilla moved easily through the Bay’s shallow waters and bedeviled the British as they made their way toward Washington, D.C. British ships eventually chased the flotilla to the upper reaches of the Patuxent River.
On a stifling day in August 1814, the Americans faced defeat. Rather than leave the vessels in British hands, they destroyed the flotilla and continued on foot to help defend the nation’s capital.” [Full Story]
August 28, 2011, TruthDive, India
“Odyssey Marine Exploration has recovered over 500,000 silver coins weighing more than 17 tons, hundreds of gold coins, worked gold, and other artefacts from a Colonial period shipwreck site code-named ‘Black Swan’ in an undisclosed location in the Atlantic Ocean.
All recovered items have been legally imported into the Unites States and placed in a secure, undisclosed location where they are undergoing conservation and documentation.
It is believed that this recovery constitutes the largest collection of coins ever excavated from a historical shipwreck site.” [Full Story]
August 26, 2011, BioScholar News, UK
“A 98 foot-long Roman cargo ship dating to the first century B.C. has been found about 130 feet deep near the port city of Vlora.
Most of the jars, or amphoras, lay unbroken on the sea floor, and as their stoppers had gone, they were empty.
‘The ship is one among five ancient wrecks we discovered last month. The other four were just north in Montenegro’, Discovery News quoted archaeologist Jeff Royal, of the RPM Nautical Foundation, as saying.
The coasts of both Albania and Montenegro remained unexplored until 2007, when Florida-based RPM Nautical Foundation initiated a coastal survey aimed at identifying submerged archaeological artifacts in both countries.”
August 17, 2011, Balkan Insight, Albania
“The remains of a 2,100-year-old Roman ship have been discovered off the Karaburun Peninsula in Albania’s southern coast by archaeologists.
A research team comprised of Albanian and US archaeologists found the wreckage this week at a depth of 50 metres and believe it dates to between the second and first century BC.
According to archaeologists, the discovery of a 30 metre-long ship with more than 300 amphoras-a type of ceramic container- aboard, sheds new light on the ancient population of the southern Illyrian coast and its trade relations in the Mediterranean.
“The growing maritime evidence points toward an intense wine industry and associated heavy trade that developed in the 2nd century BC and continued into the 1st century CE,” Dr Jeff Royal of the RPM Nautical Foundation said in a statement.” [Full Story]
August 05, 2011, Irish Times, Ireland
“The wreckage of a sunken vessel believed to be from the Spanish Armada has been discovered off the Donegal coast.
Underwater archaeologists are to explore the historic wreck, located in shallow waters in Rutland Harbour, near Burtonport.
Evidence uncovered during a dive survey revealed the vessel was likely to be a 16th century ship, possibly part of the 1588 Spanish Armada.
Up to 24 ships of the 130-strong ill-fated fleet were wrecked along Ireland’s rocky coastline.
The location of the latest vessel means the search team will have better than usual access to find any artefacts that may still be on board.” [Full Story]
August 03, 2011, BBC News, UK
“Archaeologists from Texas State University believe they have uncovered a ship found near the site where Welsh Admiral Sir Henry Morgan’s ships wrecked in 1671.
The infamous privateer – widely known as Captain Morgan – was on his way to Panama City with his men.
The researchers say they might have found a section of the hull as well as cargo boxes and coral-covered chests.” [Watch the BBC News Video Report]
July 15, 2011, The Local, Sweden
“What looks very much like a cog, a ship used in the Baltic between the 12th and the 14th centuries, has been discovered in the waters between the islands of Gotland and Öland off the east coast of Sweden.
The vessel showed up in sonar pictures of the area, causing experts on shipwrecks to believe that they may have the world’s oldest intact shipwreck on their hands.
“The hairs at the back of my neck stood up when I first saw the pictures,” said shipwreck expert Erik Bjurström to the local Barometern daily.
Because of the age of the ship and the location, historians cannot but wonder if it in fact could be the legendary ship that carried the Danish king Valdemar Atterdag home after his sacking of Visby on Gotland, in 1361 AD.” [Full Story]
July 09, 2011, New Zealand Herald, New Zealand
“Institute first-aid kit found on a 2000-year-old shipwreck has provided a remarkable insight into the medicines concocted by ancient physicians to cure sailors of dysentery and other ailments.
Medicines found inside a wooden chest included pills made of ground-up vegetables, herbs and plants such as celery, onions, carrots, cabbage, alfalfa and chestnuts – all ingredients referred to in classical medical texts.
The tablets, which have miraculously survived being under water for more than two millennia, also contain extracts of parsley, nasturtium, radish, yarrow and hibiscus.
They were found in 136 tin-lined wooden vials on a 15m-long trading ship which was wrecked about 130BC off the coast of Tuscany.” [Full Story]
July 07, 2011, The Sofia Echo, Bulgaria
“Bulgarian scientists have found the ancient shores of the Black Sea, currently deep beneath the waves, which they claim were the original shores about 7500 years ago, when the Black Sea at the time was just a fresh water lake, the Bulgarian National Television (BNT) reported on July 7 2011.
The team, led by Professor Petko Dimitrov of the Institute of Oceanology in Varna, which is part of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), returned from an expedition aboard the research vessel Akademik, saying that they have found the ancient coastline close to the Cape of Emine.
Archaeological evidence suggest that this particular spot was part of the ancient coastline, the BNT said.
The common theory of the creation of the Black Sea says that there was a massive deluge through the straits of Bosporus (modern Istanbul), where waters from the Mediterranean flooded into the lake.
Once the Mediterranean Sea breached the Bosporus Strait, it irreversibly changed the history of the people in the area, as well as the flora and fauna.” [Full Story]
June 06, 2011, The Vancouver Sun, Canada
“A team of Canadian scientists has used geology-style drill cores from an Ontario lake bottom to gather evidence of toolmaking and perhaps even duckhunting by ancient aboriginals about 10,000 years ago – the first discovery of its kind in North America, and one that could point the way to further breakthroughs in underwater archeology around the world.
Led by researcher Lisa Sonnenburg of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., the team took sediment samples from a shallow section of Rice Lake – a popular summer vacation spot northeast of Toronto – where prehistoric First Nations were known to have camped soon after the glaciers retreated at the end of the last ice age.
The scientists found more than 150 tiny flakes of quartz in the lake’s murky depths – strong evidence that an ancient shoreline, submerged long ago, was used by some of Canada’s earliest inhabitants as a site for manufacturing spear points, scrapers and other tools for fishing and hunting.
The discovery not only sheds new light on the activities of those prehistoric people, but also pioneers a novel method of detecting the presence of ancient aboriginals in what are now drowned landscapes – a technique with huge research potential in Canada’s Great Lakes region and many other places around the world where suspected settlement sites have became inundated over time.” [Full Story]
May 31, 2011, Russia InfoCentre, Russia
“Huge Novosibirsk Reservoir informally called the Ob Sea (Novosibirsk region) harbours lots of secrets, archeologists believe.
In the 1950s a dam was built on the Ob River and Novosibirsk Reservoir flooded a large area with lots of buried historical values.
Before the flooding Leningrad archeologists headed by Mikhail Gryaznov found about 70 archaeological monuments there, but had time to examine only 12 of them.
This spring archeologists have also found numerous artifacts in the remains of an ancient settlement dated to the late Bronze Age (9th -8th centuries BC).” [Full Story]
May 26, 2011, Daily News & Analysis, India
“Did the Konkan coast from Shrivardhan in Raigad to Vengurla in Sindhudurga host a human habitat around 8000 years ago?
Did that population have well-developed engineering skills? Was there a unique Konkan culture in existence in 6000BC?
A new archaeological discovery, below sea level along the Konkan coast, could give answers to these questions. And explorers say the answer could well be a big ‘Yes!’
Researchers have found a wall-like structure that is 24 kilometres long, 2.7 metres tall, and around 2.5 metres wide. The structure shows uniformity in its construction.
“The structure is not continuous throughout the 225 kilometres from Shrivardhan to Raigad, but it is uniform”, said Dr Ashok Marathe, professor, department of archaeology, Postgraduate and Research Institute, Deccan College, Pune.
“It has been found three metres below the present sea level. It has been constructed on the ancient sand beach, which was taken as the base for the construction. Considering the uniformity of the structure, it was obvious that the structure is man-made and not natural.”” [Watch The Slideshow]
March 22, 2011, People’s Daily Online, China
“Thirteen professionals have arrived at the Maritime Silk Road Museum of Guangdong Province and are preparing for the second indoor trial excavation of the sunken vessel “Nanhai No. 1,” according to announcement made by the museum on March 21.
The excavation is expected to last for around one month.
The second trial excavation will be carried out on the bow and stern of the ship and will verify which end is indeed the bow and stern.
According to sources, the excavation will further perfect the indoor underwater archaeological parameters and make preparations for the full excavation plan.” [Full Story]
March 19, 2011, Tampa Bay Online, USA
“Archaeologists hope a major find in a spring an hour and a half south of Tampa helps piece together how Florida’s earliest inhabitants lived.
On Friday, dive teams from The Florida Aquarium and the University of Miami exploring and excavating Little Salt Spring in southern Sarasota County carried to the surface a spear that dates back about 10,000 years.
Dive teams give a plastic box containing artifacts that date back 10,000 years to John Gifford, an underwater archaeologist at the University of Miami
University of Miami / Tampa Bay Online, USA
When archaeologists put pieces of it back together, the artifact will measure more than a foot long.
The archaeologists believe they have found the remains of camp sites or prehistoric garbage dumps.
What makes the site so unique is that the water entering the spring at about 250 feet beneath the surface has been underground for so long it contains no oxygen. There are no microbes or bacteria that normally destroy such relics.” [Full Story]
January 02, 2011, USA Today, USA
“Barry Clifford has been searching the high seas from Africa to Cape Cod, and he’s hit real treasure.
The Massachusetts-based historian and underwater explorer discovered the wreckage of the Whydah, a pirate ship that sunk off the coast of Cape Cod in 1717, making him the discoverer of the only confirmed pirate treasure in existence.
The Whydah discovery not only gave historians a never-before-seen view inside the age of 17th century pirates, but yielded real treasure — plunder from almost 50 other ships that included West African art, treasure chests of gold and silver and weapons from the time.
The discovery will be featured in an exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science that opens March 4 called Real Pirates.” [Full Story]
January 02, 2011, USA Today, USA
“Cara Blanca’s sacred Maya pools, hidden in the warm hills of Belize, still beckon.
Cobalt blue waters, draped vines and beads of sweat are what you remember from your first visit to these forest cenotes, as the pools are known.
Two years ago, a USA TODAY report filled readers in on researchers’ plans to dive deep into the cenotes, surrounded by the ruins of Maya sweat lodges from 800 A.D.
“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:
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.
“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.
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.
“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.”
“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.”
“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
