Black Sea Project 1999
Dr. Cheryl Ward

During 1999, members of the Black Sea Trade Project spent nearly four weeks at sea acquiring bathymetric and sonar data, truthing previously acquired sonar targets, and dredging along the suspected ancient shoreline. A four-member Institute of Nautical Archaeology team led by Cheryl Ward joined archaeologists, engineers, and students from the University of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Wood's Hole Oceanographic Institute and the Institute for Exploration at Sinop, Turkey. David Mindell (MIT) was principal investigator; Frederik Hiebert (U. Pennsylvania), Robert Ballard (IFE), and I were chief scientists.

The project expands four years of archaeological land surveys to the seabed. Team members sought not only ancient shipwrecks but also ancient settlements as the shoreline of the Black Sea has undergone radical changes. A recent hypothesis uses verifiable geological events (the sudden flooding of the Black Sea approximately 7,400 years ago) to suggest that the resultant dispersal of many different cultures crowded along the coastline would account for flood myths in many religions, and that the flooding of the Black Sea was 'Noah's Flood.' Although the premise of coastal crowding at the time of the flooding is unproven, the Black Sea Trade Project is interested in looking for the ancient coastline and the submerged remains of settlements along it-now more than 150 m below sea level and 11 miles out to sea.

The INA crew's role in the project is to analyze and interpret archaeological data and to become responsible for any sites that would warrant further investigation or excavation. In practice, this meant that TAMU Nautical Archaeology Program graduate students Ayse Atauz, Kathryn Willis, and Erkut Arcak worked closely with me, sonar specialists and ROV pilots to acquire, record, and analyze data. Side-scan sonar surveys by Marty Wilcox for Marine Sonics in 1998 produced over 200 targets so our expectations for the 1998 season were high.

Three fishing boats and, briefly, the Turkish Institute of Nautical Archaeology's research vessel Saros, carried our crew of 30 and the 10 National Public Radio and National Geographic television and magazine staff. Two side-scan sonar crews and two ROVs, depth-finders, and (on Saros) a magnetometer made up our assets, along with navigational aids.

Our research design called for us to examine targets located in Sinop's harbor at depths of up to 65 m, learn to identify target signatures for particular types of archaeological or geological features, and move into deeper water (up to 200 m) with both sonar and ROV imaging systems. Support vessel size and wind-driven waves kept us closer to shore than was originally planned, so most activities took place within the large bay just beyond the port of Sinop.

Sonar tracklines have been laid around the perimeter of Sinop's bay and crisscross it at regular intervals. The technology used included 150khz and 600khz "SeaScan" side-scan sonars provided by Marine Sonics Technology, Limited (Gloucester, Virginia), combined with differential GPS accurate to about 3 meters and Edge Tech dual frequency DF1000 100/500 khz provided by American Underwater Search and Survey, Ltd. (Cataumet, MA). We reacquired and examined many of the 1998 sonar targets, but most of those features were geological or biological in nature, as were many of the 1999 sonar targets (both new and revisited sites). The two ROVs made video recordings of all sites visited, and these will be extremely helpful in learning to identify the signatures of different target types.

Archaeological finds included an 18th-century anchor, two isolated storage jars, and a 19th-century shipwreck with twisted metal machinery and metal cubes, probably for water storage. The roughness of the sea prevented us from going much beyond the protected harbor area (up to 85 m) with sonar equipment. One of our three ships was large enough to work further at sea, and it carried the 'geological team' headed by Robert Ballard. George Bass was aboard the day we successfully identified the ancient coastline and dredged along it, recovering freshwater mussel shells and stones similar to water-smoothed beach pebbles.

The 19th-century shipwreck was extensively explored by the smaller ROV, with both still and video images captured by it. Sonar images provided invaluable keys to locating ourselves on the site, but the lack of digital GPS and direct positioning capability on a vessel only 19 m long created difficulties in running transects over the site. The site, in only 15 m of water, provided a vivid example of some of the difficulties to be overcome in using ROVs to analyze archaeological finds. It seemed as if every time we'd get positioned, a current or wind shift would move either the ROV or the vessel off site and we'd have to start over again. In addition, the ROV can see only what is within a meter-wide swath directly in front of it, so we couldn't easily acquire the angles we wanted at times. Still, we learned a great deal without getting wet.

Early interpretations of the sonar data, combined with reports by local informants, prompted pre-examination expectations that this was perhaps a steam-driven ship belonging to the Ottoman Navy in its conflict with Imperial Russian ships during the war of 1853. Local reports described the vessel as having been salvaged for metals in the post World War II years, when explosives were used to destroy the hull. Twisted metal strips and the overall pattern of timber dispersal agree with that description. The lack of identifiable remnants of boilers or steam engine machinery in our preliminary evaluation of video imagery suggests that this was not a steam ship, but it may be that still photographs or further analysis of video footage will change that. Certainly a few dives would be the simplest way to gain more information about this site.

No dives or snorkeling took place in 1999. The intent of the Black Sea Trade Project is to seek and explore submerged archaeological sites remotely. I was not discouraged, however, from planning a separate and independently organized underwater survey in the area. The project's main focus now is moving into deeper water to explore the anoxic layer. The 2000 season includes the use of a deep-sea research vessel in concert with the sophisticated and instrument-laden ROV Argus.

The 1999 season was a success from several standpoints. NAP students received excellent reviews from other chief scientists and the principal investigator, and expedition leaders had the opportunity to work together to solve problems in a less stressful environment than a long-term, deep sea expedition. INA crew gained an understanding of the limitations and abilities of the remote vehicles, and an appreciation for issues that must be considered in planning deepwater work. We look forward to returning in 2000 to continue the search for ancient trade routes, ships, and settlement sites.

Black Sea Project 1999 Dr. Cheryl Ward

Black Sea Project 1999
Dr. Cheryl Ward