Roman vessels were among the wrecks found on the sea floor. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 2.0 twbuckner
Marine archaeologists unexpectedly stumbled across a goldmine of shipwrecks during a recent expedition.
The wrecks, which include vessels from the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires, were spotted by researchers who had been studying the effects of climate change along the coast of Bulgaria.
“Some of the ships we discovered had only been seen on murals and mosaics until this moment,” said Black Sea Maritime Archaeological Project CEO Ed Parker. “There’s one medieval trading vessel where the towers on the bow and stern are pretty much still there.”
“It’s as if you are looking at a ship in a movie, with ropes still on the deck and carvings in the wood.”
It is thought that the environment of the Black Sea, which is unable to support the types of organisms that typically feed on wooden shipwrecks, has played a major role in the preservation of the vessels.
Source: Sofia Globe | Comments (9)
Tags: Black Sea, Shipwrecks