Three Roman Shipwrecks with Hoard of Treasures Discovered in Alexandria

Ancient Origins

A team of archaeologists in Egypt has recently announced the discovery of three underwater shipwrecks full of treasure and other valuable objects that date back to the Roman Era in Abu Qir Bay, Alexandria.

Three Impressive Underwater Shipwrecks Uncovered
 The three shipwrecks were unearthed during excavations in the Mediterranean Sea carried out by the European Institute of Underwater Archaeology and the Supreme Council of Antiquities, as Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa al-Waziry, announced. According to Egypt Independent, Waziry added in a press statement that the archaeological mission also discovered a Roman head carved in crystal that could possibly belong to the commander of the Roman armies of “Antonio”, in addition to three gold coins dating back to the Emperor “Octavius”. The discoveries took place at the coast of the northern city of Alexandria, specifically in its Abu Qir Bay.

The carved crystal head that was found at the site of the wrecks. (Image: Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities)

Pharos of Alexandria: Idealized representation of the Bay of Alexandria. (Public Domain )

Alexandria’s Vast Underwater Treasures
Alexandria, located on the Mediterranean coast in Egypt, has seen many changes in its 2,300 year history. Founded by Greek general Alexander the Great in 331 BC, at its height it rivalled Rome in its wealth and size, and was the seat for the Ptolemaic dynasty. However, through history not all agreed on how to regard the Hellenistic city with a royal Egyptian past. An underwater temple discovered by marine divers off the eastern coast shed light on the pharaonic nature of ancient Alexandria.

As previously reported in Ancient Origins, Ptolemaic Alexandria has been regarded, in academic circles, not as part of Egypt, but as a separate Greek polis, or city-state, by the borders of Egypt. However, in 1998, an important archaeological discovery was made in Alexandria which confirmed the pharaonic nature of Egyptian Alexandria. Under the heading “Sea gives up Cleopatra’s treasures”, the London Sunday Times reported the story on 25 October 1998: “Secrets of Cleopatra’s fabled royal palace, in which she wooed Julius Caesar, have been retrieved from beneath the waves of the Mediterranean sea, where they have lain for more than 1,600 years.” This remarkable discovery came about after the European Institute of Underwater Archaeology (IEASM) had been given permission in the 1990s to work in the east part of the Eastern Harbor, where the Ptolemaic royal quarter was situated.

After some years of mapping and searching the area, Frank Goddio, the French leader of the underwater team of archaeologists, was able to announce before the end of 1998 that he had discovered the royal palace of Cleopatra (51-30 BC), the last of the Ptolemaic rulers.

Ancient Egyptian statues found beneath the waves of Alexandria's Eastern Harbor. (Credit: The Hilti Foundation)

Goddio’s divers found marble floors on the seabed which he believes established for the first time the precise location of Cleopatra’s palace. They also found lumps of red granite and broken columns on the submerged island of Antirhodos, which provided Goddio with further evidence of the site of the royal quarters. Remains of Cleopatra’s royal palace were retrieved from beneath the waters of the Mediterranean Sea where they had disappeared for 17 centuries. The divers reported seeing columns and capitals in disorder, kilns and basins - some of which were described as the so-called ‘Baths of Cleopatra’; great blocks of dressed limestone, statues of Egyptian divinities, and even walls.

One of the Roman coins found in the shipwrecks (Image: Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities)

Fourth Shipwreck May be Unearthed Soon
Almost two decades later, Alexandria keeps delivering extremely significant archaeological treasures and will most likely continue to do so for many years to come. Dr. Osama Alnahas, Head of the Central Department of the Underwater Antiquities, stated as Egypt Independent reported, that the initial excavations indicate that a fourth shipwreck remains could be unearthed very soon. According to Dr. Alnahas the team has unearthed large wooden planks, as well as pieces of pottery vessels that most likely represent the ships’ hull and cargo.

Dr. Ayman Ashmawy, Head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Sector, informed the press that the archaeological team launched its excavation works last September. Ultimately, Egypt Independent reports that underwater exploration by both projects have included a research of the soil in both the eastern port and the Abu Qir Bay, underwater excavations at the Heraklion sunken city in Abu Qir Bay which includes the discovery of a votive bark of the god Osiris, as well as the completion of the conservation and documentation works.

Top image: Sunken ships, statues and treasure have been found under water at in bay near Alexandria. (Image: Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities)

By Theodoros Karasavvas

Dozens of Shipwrecks Dating Back Thousands of Years Found in the Aegean Sea

Ancient Origins

A cluster of Greek islands in the Aegean Sea is giving up some of its deep secrets, as diving archaeologists have now found eight shipwrecks dating back thousands of years. Six Greek and Roman shipwrecks, all Aegean origin cargos, have been discovered so far, revealing patterns of trade during antiquity.

The Fourni Underwater Survey, a joint Greek-American expedition, has previously located an astonishing number of 45 shipwrecks, during their survey around Fourni. Now, the divers can add another 8 wrecks to this hotspot for sunken ships, bringing the total number to 53 shipwrecks discovered in Fourni, making it the largest concentration of shipwrecks currently known in the Mediterranean

Archaeologists and the ROV robot work to recover an ancient North African amphora by Vasilis Mentogianis

A Late Roman amphora on the seafloor by Vasilis Mentogianis

Tempestuous Fourni
Fourni, which is composed of 13 small islands and islets between the large Aegean islands of Samos and Icaria, was critical for navigation since Samos and Ikaria created a choke point that made ships have to pass through Fourni. This resulted in a high volume of maritime traffic as it was known by mariners as a good anchorage on their trade route that went both east to west and north to south.

Ships would have anchored in spots that were protected from the usual northwest winds. But once in a while, the mariners could be caught off guard by a big southern storm. If the position of the ships anchor wasn't changed fast enough, these ships would be in trouble and crash against the rocks. Those are the misfortunate ships that are now being discovered by the diving archaeologists.

Merchants in the Mediterranean
Nearly all the ships discovered are amphora-carrying vessels, so merchant ships. In some cases, a wreck's cargo had a clear origin, such as a set of amphoras from the Greek island of Chios dating back to the Classical period (510-323 BC) and a Hellenistic-era amphoras (331-323 BC) from the Greek island of Kos. In other cases, amphoras have been identified from Italy, North Africa, Cyprus, Egypt, Spain and elsewhere. In addition to the amphoras, which served as the delivery containers of the ancient world, the divers discovered lamps, cooking pots and anchors.

The dates of the shipwrecks range from the late Greek Archaic period (525-480 BC) to the Early Modern period (1750-1850 AD).

3D model of a Roman period shipwreck by Kotaro Yamafune

Photographing large Pontic amphoras that date to the Roman Period by Vasilis Mentogianis

 More Awaits Discovery
There could be more to explore at Fourni: there are historical accounts of a 17th century French shipwreck in one of the bays and a British aircraft in the Sea near Fourni during World War II. So far, the team have covered less than half of the archipelago's total coastline in their surveys.

The deepest dives of the survey went to 65 meters, but there is probably more to discover below that level, given how steep the cliffs are.

The chief conservator carefully prepares a Classical Period Chian amphora for the conservation tank by Vasilis Mentogianis

This season primary focus was on documentation of the ships found previously. RPM Nautical Foundation's research vessel Hercules used its remote sensing equipment and ROV to assist in the survey and documentation of the shipwrecks. The project selected artifacts from sites to recover for conservation and scientific analysis, which may reveal further information about trade and exchange.

In the next phase of the project, the team hopes to go even deeper with technology such as remotely operated underwater vehicles.

Top image: An archaeologist systematic photographs a wreck site to create a 3D site plan by Vasilis Mentogiani.

By Sam Bostrom

More Treasures Retrieved from Lord Elgin’s Ship Which Sank with the Parthenon Marbles

Ancient Origins

A remarkable collection of artifacts has been discovered by marine archaeologists revisiting the Mentor shipwreck. Mentor was a ship that sank in 1802 near the island of Kythera in Greece while controversially transporting precious artifacts including the world-renowned Parthenon marbles to England.

According to Haaretz, the cargo of coins, jewelry, Egyptian statues, and many other artifacts were discovered by the team of marine archaeologists led by the Greek Culture Ministry's Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities, Dimitris Kourkoumelis.

Some of the artifacts found aboard Mentor, Lord Elgin's ship that sank off Kythera while carrying Parthenon marbles from Piraeus to London in 1802. (Petros Vezyrtzi)

Although many precious items were looted and recovered from the sea a long time ago, there is still a lot left to discover around the famous wreckage. The ship’s amazing story has been described before on Ancient Origins.

Lord Elgin, the ship’s owner, was responsible for acquiring the antiquities England’s elite were interested in at the time. As Dhwty wrote: “In 1799, Lord Elgin was appointed the ambassador to the Sublime Porte in Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Lord Elgin is said to have intended to improve the knowledge of Classical art in Great Britain by providing his home country with casts of Greek monuments hitherto known only from drawings and engravings.”

• The Mentor Shipwreck and the Disastrous Journey of the Parthenon Marbles to Britain
• The Antikythera Shipwreck – The Titanic of the Ancient World and its Sunken Historic Treasure
• Controversy Reignites as British MPs Propose Finally Returning Ancient Parthenon Marbles to Greece

“He assembled a team of architects, painters, draftsmen and molders under the leadership of the Italian G.B. Lusieri, and began work in Athens in 1800. […] In 1802, Lord Elgin and his men had taken away ‘pieces of stone with inscriptions or figures’ that filled 16 boxes, and were preparing to ship them back to London. On September 15, Lord Elgin’s vessel set off from the Greek port of Piraeus, with the first port of call being the island of Malta. Apart from the 16 boxes of artifacts […] a total of 12 men were on board the ship.” [via Ancient Origins]

Portrait of Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin. 1788. (Public Domain)

Dhwty continues: “On September 16, a favorable wind had taken Mentor to Cape Matapan, the southernmost point of mainland Greece. A strong easterly wind, however, forced the ship to spend the night there. The next morning, Mentor continued its journey. It was during this leg of transit that the captain realized that the ship was taking on water. Although he decided that it would be best to make for harbor on the nearest Peloponnesian coast, no one in the crew was familiar with the geography of that area, and so it was thought that the best solution was to seek port on the nearby island of Kythera.
In the afternoon on the same day, Mentor reached the shores of Cape Avlemonas. Two anchors were cast, though they failed to catch the bottom. Several maneuvers were then performed in order to prevent the ship from crashing into the rocks on the coast. This attempt failed, and Mentor crashed into the rocks of Cape Avelemonas and sank into the sea.”

• Divers find more artifacts at wreck of the Mentor, which sank carrying the Elgin Marbles
• 2,000-Year-Old Human Remains Found on Famous Antikythera Shipwreck
• 23 Wrecks Found in Ship Graveyard in Aegean Sea in Just 22 Days

The ship sank to the depth of 23 meters (75.5ft.), but all the passengers and crewmembers were rescued by a vessel named Anikitos. However, the 16 boxes of antiquities sank to the bottom of the sea. To remedy this problem, Lord Elgin hired sponge divers from the island of Kalymnos, and the precious marbles were salvaged from the wreck and shipped to the UK through Malta.

Parthenon marbles on display at The British Museum. (Andrew Dunn/CC BY SA 2.0)

But not everything was recovered. Thus, a team of marine archaeologists discovered parts of an Egyptian statue and a piece of an ancient Egyptian inscription which sheds light on the origins of the marble. As Dimitris Kourkoumelis recently told Haaretz: ''In Egypt, especially Alexandria, they were selling ancient stone statues of Egyptian pharaohs that were used as ballast on the ships. Afterwards, when they reached port, they would take out the ballast and sell the statues to collectors.''

Fragment of Pharaonic statue that was found with the shipwreck. It dates to the New Kingdom period (1570-1070 BC). (EUA - Petros Vezyrtzis/GR Reporter)

Apart from this, the team of researchers found an instrument probably used by William Leek, a famous British topographer, who made the topographical map of Zea in Piraeus and drawings of the Parthenon. They also found several artifacts that belonged to the passengers and crew of the ship which can still be tied to specific individuals. The divers discovered a compass, part of an hourglass and calipers, glassware such as vessels, cups, and bottles, porcelain, three pistols and many bullets, flints, a cannonball, and watches that were manufactured in London.
In the next season, Dimitris Kourkoumelis’ team hopes to explore Mentor’s bow and uncover more antiquities. They believe there are still more Parthenon marble fragments which were broken and left behind.

A pistol underwater archaeologists found aboard the ship Mentor. (Petros Vezyrtzi)

It has been 200 years since the tragedy on the sea, yet the topic of the Parthenon marbles is still very controversial. In 1816, Lord Elgin sold the marble treasures to the British Government and they became part of the British Museum’s collection. However, nowadays, Elgin is regarded as a thief by many Greek people.
They see him as a criminal who stole their heritage. Many of the original Parthenon marbles can be found in London and some are in the Louvre in Paris. Greek exhibits mostly consist of plaster casts of the precious marbles, but there is an ongoing attempt to recover the lost treasures from abroad.

An idealised view of the Temporary Elgin Room at the Museum in 1819, with portraits of staff, a trustee and visitors. (Public Domain)

Top Image: Underwater archaeologists explore the wreck of Mentor, Lord Elgin's ship that sank off Kythera due to the heavy weight of the Parthenon marbles. Source: John Fardoulis and Alexandros Tourtas
By Natalia Klimczak

What the world’s oldest calculator tells us about the Ancient Greeks' view of the Universe

Ancient Origins

When we talk of the history of computers, most of us will refer to the evolution of the modern digital desktop PC, charting the decades-long developments by the likes of Apple and Microsoft. What many don’t consider, however, is that computers have been around much longer. In fact, they date back millennia, to a time when they were analogue creations.

Today, the world’s oldest known “computer” is the Antikythera mechanism, a severely corroded bronze artefact which was found at the beginning of the 20th Century, in the remains of a shipwreck near the Mediterranean island of Antikythera. It wasn’t until the 1970s that the importance of the Antikythera mechanism was discovered, when radiography revealed that the device is in fact a complex mechanism of at least 30 gear wheels.
The mechanism has since been established as the first known astronomical calendar, a complex system which can track and predict the cycles of the solar system. Technically, it is a sophisticated mechanical “calculator” rather than a true “computer”, since it cannot be reprogrammed, but nonetheless an impressive artefact.

• The Antikythera Shipwreck – The Titanic of the Ancient World and its Sunken Historic Treasure
• New analysis of Antikythera Mechanism reveals clues to one of history’s greatest puzzles
• Daring new search of ancient Antikythera wreck begins today

Since 2004, an international collaboration has applied modern imaging methods to probe the mechanism’s structure and function. These techniques have now revealed many of the texts on its surfaces and even much of the inscription which was buried inside the remaining fragments, as a result of damage during and after the shipwreck.

So what do we know about the mechanism? And what has the deciphering of the texts added?

Inside history

When first made, the mechanism was about the size of a shoe box, with dials on both its front and back faces. A handle or knob on the side of the box enabled the user to turn the trains of gears inside –- originally there were considerably more gears than the 30 that still survive. On the front, pointers showed where the sun and moon were in the sky, and there was a display of the phase of the moon. On the rear, dials displayed a 19-year cycle of lunar months, the 18.2-year Saros cycle of lunar and solar eclipses, and even a four-year cycle of athletic competitions including the Olympic games.
The inscriptions are thought to have been a description for the user of what it was they were viewing as they operated the mechanism. However, the newly published texts add more to what we know of the mechanism: they establish that the positions of the five planets known in antiquity were also shown – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
The planets were displayed on the machine in a way that took account of their rather irregular “wanderings” about the sky. Such a display had been suspected, and the confirmation reinforces that this was a very sophisticated and quite complicated device. The actual gear trains needed for the display of the planets are missing – presumably lost in the shipwreck – but we know from the very ingenious way that the sun and moon drives are designed and constructed that the makers of the mechanism certainly had the skills necessary to make the planetary drive.
The newly uncovered inscriptions include passages about what stars were just becoming visible –- or about to be lost in the glare of the sun – at different times of year. The style of these passages is very close to that of a well-known astronomical text by Greek astronomer and mathematician Geminos from the first Century BC. Not only does this tie in perfectly with the presumed date of the shipwreck (around 60BC), but also the latitude – which is implied by stellar data to be mid-Mediterranean – which would fit nicely with the mechanism originating on the island of Rhodes, from where there is a contemporary historic record from the writer Cicero of such devices.

Uncovering the truth

Some mysteries still remain, however. It is still not clear exactly what such a mechanism was actually for. Was it some kind of teaching device? Would it have had any religious significance? Was it a prestigious “toy”? The latter interpretation is seeming less and less likely. This was a serious bit of kit, with a very detailed astronomical description.
The mechanism is basically an astronomical device, which bears witness both to the Greeks’ astronomical knowledge and their extraordinary, and rather unrecognised, mechanical design skills. One other small detail may hint at its integration into our ancestors' view of the wider world too. Some of the texts seem to be discussing the possible colours of eclipses, which might be interpreted in the context of whether the eclipse was a good or bad omen. It must be emphasised that this is the only astrological reference found on the mechanism though, despite careful searching.

• Spectacular new artifacts recovered from 2,050-year-old Antikythera Shipwreck
• Researchers to revisit ancient Antikythera wreck using new technology
• Famous Antikythera Shipwreck Yields New Remarkable Discoveries

To understand the Antikythera mechanism, what is really needed is more artefacts or texts on mechanical devices from the classical era. Unfortunately, the recycling of valuable metal, both in ancient and medieval times, has resulted in nearly all mechanisms being destroyed. There is always the possibility that another device or text might turn up at an extensive archaeological site like Pompeii or Herculaneum, but probably the best bet for hardware remains classical-era shipwrecks.
Divers have returned to the Antikythera wreck this year, so perhaps the missing parts of the planetary display will turn up. An enticing possibility is that the Antikythera mechanism was on the ship because it was being delivered to a customer. The mechanism was not, as sometimes claimed, a navigational device and navigation was not the reason for its presence. If one device was being delivered, might there be more – if not on this ship, then perhaps on others from Rhodes? New devices might help indicate how widely geared technology developed, before almost completely disappearing from view in the rather obscure period that lasted from 500AD until the sudden blossoming again of gearwork in the era of the medieval cathedral clocks from about 1180AD, well over a millennium after the Antikythera mechanism.
Top image: Antikythera Mechanism, National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Greece. (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
The article ‘ What the world’s oldest calculator tells us about the ancient Greeks' view of the universe’ by Mike Edmunds was originally published on The Conversation and has been republished under a Creative Commons license. 

23 Wrecks Found in Ship Graveyard in Aegean Sea in Just 22 Days

Ancient Origins

It is the second time in a little over the year that researchers in Greece have announced the discovery of nearly two dozen sunken ships in the Aegean Sea. In the area of Fourni, a group of 13 islands between the islands of Samos and Icaria in Greece, a place known as the ‘ship graveyard’, they recovered magnificent treasures among the ancient wrecks.

According to National Geographic , 23 ships were discovered last month, the oldest of them dating back to 525 BC.  Among the wrecks were ship cargoes from the Classical period (480-323 BC), the Hellenistic period (323-31 BC), the Late Roman period (300-600 AD), and the Medieval period (500-1500 AD). During the exploration they found stunning artifacts including bowls, plates, pots, storage jars, lamps, black painted ceramic fine-ware, and more.

An earthenware vessel found at one of the shipwreck sites. Credit: Vasilis Mentogianis

Most of the artifacts that survived are amphorae, which are clay storage jars. In ancient times, they were used by merchant ships to transport cargo of olive oil, wine, fish sauce, and other condiments. Due to the state of preservation of the amphorae, it is possible to identify their place of origin as the styles and the visually distinct vessels are still visible. Incredibly, the vessels were found to originate in Cyprus, Egypt, Samos, Patmos, Asia Minor, mainland Greece, Rome, Spain, and even North Africa.

Several amphorae found at a shipwreck site. Credit: Vasilis Mentogianis

The wrecks were discovered by a team led by George Koutsouflakis and his co-director Peter Campbell of RPM Nautical . They started the research in the 2016 season with a team of 25 divers, archaeologists, and artifact conservators. After only 22 days they discovered an impressive 23 wrecks.
As they described:

''As we hovered above the suspected site the first two divers strapped on roughly 50 pounds of gear and tumbled backward over opposite sides of the boat, leaving only a froth of surface bubbles as they descended. One of the divers was Manos Mitikas, the local Fourni free diver who called Koutsouflakis a year ago with the map of wrecks. His leads had already helped the team discover many shipwrecks. This morning they were searching a site at a depth of more than 197 feet (60 meters). Scuba tanks were essential. We waited on the surface, the waves pushing us away from the drop point. The moments while divers are submerged are always tense. Even experts risk equipment failures, insufficient decompression, and the dangerous confusion induced by nitrogen narcosis. After 25 long minutes an inflatable red buoy finally popped above the surface of the waves. They'd found the wreck and marked its position.''

The remains of an ancient ship found near Fourni in Greece. Credit: Vasilis Mentogianis

It is not a first discovery by this team. A little bit more than a year ago Mark Miller from Ancient Origins reported that the researchers found another impressive group of wrecks in the same sea. He wrote:
''Archaeologists doing an underwater survey in the Aegean Sea in Greek territorial waters have found an amazing 22 shipwrecks of merchant vessels that sank between 700 BC and the 16th century AD. The researchers have surveyed just 5 percent of the coasts of the Fourni archipelago and expect to find many more shipwrecks there when they return to continue their survey.
The lead researcher, Peter Campbell, told Ancient Origins the large number of wrecks in the small area surveyed is because of the volume of ancient ship traffic, not because of dangerous waters.
“It’s such a rare find,” Campbell said in an electronic message. Experts are calling this one of the top archaeological discoveries of 2015.
The Fourni archipelago covers an area of 17 square miles (44 square kilometers) between the islands of Icaria and Samos and is right in the middle of an ancient east-west trade route and another route running north to south that connected the Aegean and Black Sea area to the Levant of the eastern Mediterranean.
More than half of the ships were wrecked during the Late Roman Period of 300 to 600 AD. Other ships were from the Archaic Period of 700 to 480 BC, the Classical period of 480 to 323 BC, the Hellenistic of 323 to 31 BC, through the Late Medieval of the 16th century, according to Discovery.
Three of the ships had amphora types that hadn’t been found previously on shipwrecks. The cargoes show evident trade between the Aegean and Black seas, Cyprus, the Levant and Egypt during every phase. The team took representative artifacts from each shipwreck to analyze and perhaps later put them on display to the public''

A diver explores a sunken cargo of amphorae from the late Archaic period (c. 525-480 BC). Credit: Vasilis Mentogianis

The researchers discovered 45 wrecks during two seasons only, however, the finds have caused conflict between fishermen and archeologists. After registering the underwater sites, the Greek government typically prohibits fishing in the area. While such an impressive amount of wrecks brought huge fame to the researchers, it also brought many troubles. Koutsouflakis decided to make the conflict smaller so, working from within the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities, he has helped to drastically reduce the size of the banned areas. However, archeologists will need to spend many seasons investigating the sites before tha bans can be lifted.
Top image: A diver exploring one of the wreck sites. Credit: Vasilis Mentogianis
By Natalia Klimzcak

1600-Year-Old Cargo of a Roman Merchant Ship has been Discovered in Caesarea

Ancient Origins

An underwater survey in the ancient port of Caesarea has uncovered thousands of coins and bronze statues dating to the 5th century AD.

The Greatest Catch

Two sports divers likely made their greatest catch in life when they made a fortuitous discovery of two Late Roman bronze statues in the ancient port of Caesarea.
As soon as they had surfaced divers Ran Feinstein and Ofer Ra‘anan
reported the finds to the Israel Antiquities Authority. During a joint dive, Ran and Ofer, guided marine archaeologists from the IIA to the location.
The seabead had been cleared of sand and a maze of iron anchors, moorings chains and debris were left exposed, being the remains of a ship.

The ship’s anchor as it was discovered in the sea. Photographic credit: The Marine Archaeology Unit of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

During the next weeks the IIA conducted an underwater salvage survey and in a relatively short time, they had recovered beautiful bronze statues, thousands of coins and other finds on the seabed dating to 5th century AD.
The treasure throw belonged to a Late Roman Merchant ships that sank in the harbor some 1600 years ago.

Wrecked by a Storm

Many of the artifacts are bronze and in an extraordinary state of preservation: a bronze lamp depicting the image of the sun god Sol, a figurine of the moon goddess Luna, a lamp in the image of the head of an African slave, fragments of three life-size bronze cast statues, objects fashioned in the shape of animals such as a whale, a bronze faucet in the form of a wild boar with a swan on its head.

Fragment of a bronze lamp decorated with the image of the sun god Luna, as discovered on the seabed. Photo: Ran Feinstein.

A lamp in the image of the head of an African slave. Photographic credit: Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Fragment of a life-size head of a statue. Photographic credit: Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

In addition, fragments of large jars were found that were used for carrying drinking water for the crew in the ship and for transportation at sea. One of the biggest surprises in particular was the discovery of two metallic lumps composed of thousands of coins weighing c. 20 kilograms which was in the form of the pottery vessel in which they were transported.
“These are extremely exciting finds, which apart from their extraordinary beauty, are of historical significance. The location and distribution of the ancient finds on the seabed indicate that a large merchant ship was carrying a cargo of metal slated recycling, which apparently encountered a storm at the entrance to the harbor and drifted until it smashed into the seawall and the rocks”, said Jacob Sharvit, director of the Marine Archaeology Unit of the IIA, and adds,
“A marine assemblage such as this has not been found in Israel in the past thirty years. Metal statues are rare archaeological finds because they were always melted down and recycled in antiquity. When we find bronze artifacts it usually occurs at sea. Because these statues were wrecked together with the ship, they sank in the water and were thus ‘saved’ from the recycling process”.

The rare bronze artifacts that were discovered in Caesarea. Photographic credit: Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Coins carrying the Image of Constantine

The coins that were discovered bear the image of the emperor Constantine who ruled the Western Roman Empire (312–324 AD) and was later known as Constantine the Great, ruler of the Roman Empire (324–337 AD), and of Licinius, an emperor who ruled the eastern part of the Roman Empire and was a rival of Constantine, until his downfall in a battle that was waged between the two rulers.

Lumps of coins that were discovered at sea, weighing a total of c. 20 kilograms. Photographic credit: Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The range of finds recovered from the sea reflects the large volume of trade and the status of Caesarea’s harbor during this time, which was known as period of economic and commercial stability in the wake of the stability of the Roman Empire- the period when Christianity was on its way to becoming the official religion of the Roman Empire.
It was at this time that Emperor Constantine put a halt to the policy of persecuting Christians, and the faithful in Caesarea, as well as elsewhere in the Roman Empire, were given the legitimacy to practice their belief through the famous Edict of Milan that proclaimed Christianity was no longer a banned religion. Later, Constantine recognized Christianity as the official state religion, and it was during his reign that the fundamentals of the religion were established. 

While the new finds are being studied by the IIA, a cache of gold coins that was discovered water off of Caesarea in the winter of 2015 are already being displayed to the visiting public in the Caesarea harbor.
By Sam Bostrom
Featured image: A figurine of the sun god Sol as discovered on the seabed. Photo: Ran Feinstein.

Ancient Origins

600-Year-Old Royal Ship of Henry V Found Buried in Hampshire River

A wooden shipwreck believed to be one of King Henry V’s greatest ships has been tentatively identified in the River Hamble in southern England. The 600-year-old warship, known as the Holigost (Holy Ghost) was commission by the king in his war against France.
The finding was announced today by Historic England, after it was spotted in an aerial photograph by British maritime historian, Dr Ian Friel. A faint U-shaped outline in the mud at the edge of the river is prompting an investigation using sonar, remote sensing, and drone equipment to create a computerized image of what lies beneath the mud.
The location is just 50 meters from the wreck of Henry V’s flagship, The Grace Dieu, the largest ship in Europe at the time – it measures 66 meters long.

The aerial photograph showing a U-shaped outline (circled blue) on the bank of the River Hamble, located just 50 meters from Henry’s flagship The Grace Dieu (circled green). Credit: Historic England.

Dr Friel first stated that the Holy Ghost wreck must be located in the River Hamble close to The Grace Dieu, more than 30 years ago. The Mail Online reports that after identifying the U-shape in grainy aerial photographs, he and a team of archaeologists visited the site at low tide and discovered something hard beneath the surface. But it is only now that Dr Friel has been able to present enough evidence to prompt a full-scale investigation by Historic England, who have said it is a “tangible link” to Henry V.

The River Hamble where the wreck of the Holy Ghost is believed to lie. Credit: Historic England

The Holy Ghost was constructed from the timbers of a captured Castilian ship, The Santa Clara, which had been overrun by English pirates in 1413. The ship was taken to Southampton, England, and rebuilt as part of King Henry V’s war machine. It was the third biggest ship in Henry’s navy, capable of carrying up to 200 crew and 750 tons of weapons and equipment.
The Holy Ghost joined the royal fleet in November, 1415, and fought in two major sea battles during the Hundred Years War – the Battle of Harfleur (1416) and the Battle of Chef de Caux (1417). The ship played a key role in conquering territory in France in the early 15^th century. However, after suffering serious damage, the ship was docked in the naval anchorage in the River Hamble and abandoned.

Depiction of the royal fleet of King Edward I of England. From Jean de Wavrin's 'Chronicles of England', c.1470-80.

Archaeologists believe that the wreck of the Holy Ghost is likely to be better preserved than that of The Grace Dieu, and they are hoping that it could reveal a great deal about life aboard the ship, naval warfare, as well as 15^th century shipbuilding.

“To investigate a ship from this period is immensely exciting,” said Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England. “It holds the possibility of fascinating revelations in the months and years to come.”

Featured image: A painting showing what the Holy Ghost ship would have looked like. Credit: British Library / Historic England.
By April Holloway

Beast from the Deep: Rare wooden figurehead salvaged from historic Danish shipwreck

A wooden figurehead depicting a doglike figure or monster from a historic 15^th century Danish ship has been pulled from Swedish waters. This is one of the oldest known preserved wooden carvings of its kind in the world. Wood disintegrates relatively quickly unless it is preserved by submersion.
The ship the figurehead is believed to have come from was the warship Gribshunden, which was possibly a flagship built under King Hans of Denmark, who ruled from 1481 to 1513. The ship, which had been carrying Hans (or King John) to Sweden on a 1495 diplomatic mission, is believed to have burned before arrival. Hans, who watched the ship burn from a nearby boat, called off the mission. In later years war ensued between Denmark and Sweden, which wanted independence from the Kalmar Union that united Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Historians wonder if the diplomatic mission had succeeded whether war could have been avoided later.
Charcoal has been found at the site of the shipwreck, lending further credence to the belief that this wreck is in fact the Gribshunden. The shipwreck, which lies in waters off the south coast of Sweden, is considered vitally important in the history of naval warfare.

Lead shot found amidships of the Gribshunden wreck; these may be among the first artillery lead shot meant for use in naval warfare. (Photo by Johan Ronnby)

The Swedish waters where divers are now working to salvage the Gribshunden were considered Danish waters in the 15^th century. The shipwreck, which was discovered by sport divers in the 1970s, has deep historical significance, according to the blog Combat Archaeology.
“As can be gained from the above, Gribshunden is an extraordinarily unique find. Future studies of the site will doubtlessly make significant contributions to knowledge of Late Medieval life, especially in relation to seafaring and naval warfare,” the blog states.

This YouTube videos shows Professor Jon Adams working underwater at the Gribshunden site.

The ship was 35 meters (114 feet) from bow to stern and had a beam of at least 7.5 meters (24.6 feet) and had forecastle and aftcastle. It was an early type of ship constructed using the carvel method in which planks of the hull were laid flush and edge to edge instead of overlapping in the clinker type construction. In addition to the figurehead, divers have found three lead shot of 5 cm (about 2 inches) in diameter and carriages on the hull for wrought iron guns. Crossbow bolts also have been found at the shipwreck in previous years.
The significance of the military hardware is that this ship is right at or near the beginning of a new type of warfare—blasting away with artillery from a distance instead of boarding and doing hand-to-hand combat, which had been done from ancient times.

Gun carriages from the Gribshunden in Blekinge Museum (Photo by Mattias Mattison)

“The material, therefore, is a particularly instructive topic of investigation for the study of the development of naval warfare, offering an insight into the navy’s first steps towards extricating itself from the medieval bind of determining naval battles by boarding action,” says Combat Archaeology.

“The focal shift towards naval heavy ordnance fire is an important stage in the history of warfare, for out of it emerged purely impersonal warfare. The violence, now generated in a detached and distant way, was something new, having interesting psychological repercussions that are known to result in that the violence becomes more extreme. Gribshunden, when coupled and contrasted to other wrecks – such as Mary Rose (1545), Elefanten (1564), Mars (1564), Vasa (1628) and Kronan (1676) – has the potential to reveal incredible insights concerning the overall trajectory of the development of warfare at sea, not least the underlying social institutions that both governed and were influenced by these technological advancements.”

Marcus Sandekejer of Blekinge museum, where the figurehead will be displayed later in August 2015, told TheLocal.dk: "This figurehead is probably the only one left from a 15th century ship in the world. Five hundred twenty years under water and in such a great condition!"
The wooden figurehead is in a bath of sugar water to remove salt, which could corrode it now that it has been salvaged.
"After that, we will look at other ways of keeping it well maintained for the longer term,” he said. “We have been working with top archaeologists who have worked with other big preservations such as the Kronan ship in Kalmar.”
Featured image: The figurehead of the Gribshunden resembles a monster or dog. (Blekinge Museum photo)


By Mark Miller

Ancient Origins

Japan's WW2 'Musashi battleship wreck found'

 

BBC News

The Musashi came under sustained attack by waves of US aircraft in October 1944

American billionaire Paul Allen has announced the discovery of the famous World War Two Japanese battleship, the Musashi, more than 70 years after it was sunk by US forces.

Mr Allen said the vessel was found by his private exploration team.

It was at a depth of more than 1km (3,280ft) on the floor of the Sibuyan Sea off the Philippines.

The Musashi and its sister vessel, the Yamato, were two of the largest battleships ever built.

US warplanes sank the Musashi on 24 October 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, believed to be the biggest naval encounter of World War Two in which American and Australian forces defeated the Japanese.

Photos of parts of the Musashi have been released on Mr Allen's Twitter account, including this image of a valve

This photo is said by Mr Allen to show part of the bow of the Musashi

Mr Allen announced the discovery on his Twitter page, which also showed photos of the submerged vessel.

He began his search for the Musashi eight years ago, "because since my youth I have been fascinated with Second World War history," he was quoted by CNBC as saying.

The Musashi was found in the middle of the Philippine archipelago using an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) after Mr Allen's team had carried out a thorough survey of the seabed.
Attacking aircraft
The Musashi was a "mighty battleship" with "mammoth 18-inch guns", the US Navy's website says.

Its twin ship, the Yamato, was damaged in the fighting, according to the US Navy, and American warships finally sank it a year later as it tried to get to Okinawa.

Atlantis' Legendary Metal Found in Shipwreck

By Rossella Lorenzi
Live Science

A team of divers recovered nearly 40 ingots off the sea floor near Siciliy, from a ship that was lost in the sixth century. Credit: Superintendent of the Sea Office, Sicily

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."

 

He noted that the 39 ingots found on the sandy sea floor represent a unique finding. "Nothing similar has ever been found," Tusa said. "We knew orichalcum from ancient texts and a few ornamental objects."
Indeed orichalcum has long been considered a mysterious metal, its composition and origin widely debated.
According to the ancient Greeks, it was invented by Cadmus, a Greek-Phoenician mythological character. The fourth century B.C. Greek philosopher Plato made orichalcum a legendary metal when he mentioned it in the Critias dialogue.

Describing Atlantis as flashing "with the red light of orichalcum," he wrote that the metal, second only in value to gold, was mined in the mythical island and was used to cover Poseidon's temple interior walls, columns and floors.
Today most scholars agree orichalcum is a brass-like alloy, which was made in antiquity by cementation. This process was achieved with the reaction of zinc ore, charcoal and copper metal in a crucible.
Analyzed with X-ray fluorescence by Dario Panetta, of TQ - Tecnologies for Quality, the 39 ingots turned to be an alloy made with 75-80 percent copper, 15-20 percent zinc and small percentages of nickel, lead and iron.
"The finding confirms that about a century after its foundation in 689 B.C., Gela grew to become a wealthy city with artisan workshops specialized in the production of prized artifacts," Tusa said.
The 39 ingots recovered from the wreck were indeed destined to these workshops and were used in high quality decorations.


According to Enrico Mattievich, a retired professor of physics who taught at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), the ingots are not properly made from orichalcum.
"It appears they are lumps of latone metal, an alloy of copper, zinc and lead," he told Discovery News.
Mattievich, who has led a number of studies in physics applied to mineralogy, paleontology and archaeology, is one of the scholars who disagree on the brass-like nature of orichalcum.
While other scholars equated the mysterious metal to amber and to other copper based alloys, Mattievich believes orichalcum has its roots in the Peruvian Andes and in the Chavín civilization that developed there from 1200 B.C. to 200 B.C.

According to the scholar, who claimed in his book "Journey to the Mythological Inferno" that the ancient Greeks had discovered America, a metallic alloy "with fire-Iike reflections" similar to Plato's description was found in a set of metallic jaguars of Chavin style, which turned to be made of 9 percent copper, 76 percent gold and 15 percent silver.
Whatever the origins and nature of orichalcum, Tusa's team plans to excavate the shipwreck and bring to light the entire cargo.
"It will provide us with precious information on Sicily's most ancient economic history," Tusa said.
Originally published on Discovery News.

Byzantine Shipwrecks Shed Light on Shipbuilding History

The Yenikapı shipwreck called YK 14 was a 9th-century merchant ship, sen here under sprinklers in April 2007. Waterlogged archaeological wood can be severely damaged if it is allowed to dry and therefore must be kept constantly wet during its excavation (Photo courtesy of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University /M. Jones)
by Agata Blaszczak-Boxe
Live Science

Archaeological excavations in Turkey that began in 2004 have yielded a unique historical treasure — 37 shipwrecks from the Byzantine Empire, eight of which are now described in a new report.
The shipwrecks were discovered at a site called Yenikapi, in Istanbul, in what was a port of the ancient city, then called Constantinople. The ships date back to the fifth to 11th centuries, and are in exceptionally good condition, archaeologists say.
"Never before has such a large number and types of well-preserved vessels been found at a single location," said study author Cemal Pulak, of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University.

The eight shipwrecks highlighted in the new report, which date from the seventh to 10th centuries, show that the shipbuilders at the time were using a more complex process than previously thought, according to the researchers. [Disasters at Sea: 6 Deadliest Shipwrecks]
Each of the ships the researchers examined in the report incorporated elements characteristic of two ship-building methods. In one method, the shell of a ship was built first, and in the other, the ship's skeleton was constructed first, and then the planks were attached. The researchers' analysis showed that a transition from a shell-first to a skeleton-first approach was already well underway by the seventh century.
"It is through meticulous and time-consuming detective work that we slowly begin to understand how these ships were built, modified, overhauled and used," Pulak told Live Science."By such means, we try understand the minds of the shipbuilders and their design and conceptualization processes, in order to better comprehend the history of science and engineering."
Of the eight ships that the researchers examined for the report, six were classified as "round ships," which means that they were propelled primarily or entirely by sail. The length of the round ships ranged from 26 to 48 feet (8 to 14.7 meters), and they were between 8 and 16 feet (2.5 and 5 m) wide.
The other two ships the researchers examined were galleys — long, oared ships, about 100 feet (30 m) long and 13 feet (4 m) wide. Among all of the 37 shipwrecks discovered at Yenikapi, there were a total of six Byzantine galleys, "notably the first shipwrecks of this type discovered from the Byzantine period," the researchers wrote in their report.
Previously, Byzantine galleys were known only from books and artwork dating to the time period, and such sources tend to be difficult to interpret. Therefore the well-preserved remains of these vessels at Yenikapi play a crucial role in archaeologists' study of Byzantine ships, the researchers said.
Until recently, much of the information about Byzantine ships had come from the several medium-size seagoing ships that had been excavated in the Mediterranean, Pulak said. "Yenikapi has yielded a wide array of small rowboats, fishing boats, utility vessels and even naval ships, all directly from Constantinople itself, the capital of the Byzantine Empire," he added.
A large museum in Istanbul is being planned to exhibit many of the wrecks, Pulak said. But it could take several years to restore the timbers of each ship's hull, he said.
The report was published online Dec. 8 in the International Journal of Nautical Archeology.

Wreck of 17th-Century Dutch Warship Discovered

by Megan Gannon

A diver measures a cannon found at the wreck site in Tobago's Rockley Bay. Credit: Courtesy of the University of Connecticut

NEW YORK — The wreck of a 17th-century Dutch warship has been discovered off the coast of Tobago, a small island located in the southern Caribbean. Marine archaeologists believe the vessel is possibly the Huis de Kreuningen, which was lost during a bloody fight between Dutch and French colonists.
On March 3, 1677, the French Navy launched a fierce attack against the Dutch in Tobago's Rockley Bay. European settlers coveted Tobago for its strategic location; in fact, the island changed hands more than 30 times after Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World.
The abbreviated story of this particular battle is, "Everybody dies, and every ship sinks," according to Kroum Batchvarov, an assistant professor of maritime archaeology at the University of Connecticut. Indeed, about 2,000 people were killed and up to 14 ships went down during the skirmish. But until now, none of those sunken vessels had been recovered. [Shipwrecks Gallery: Secrets of the Deep]

This past March, Batchvarov went searching for wrecks in Rockley Bay. Through remote sensing and historical accounts, his team identified a spot where shipwrecks from the battle might have settled on the bottom of the bay. One day, while the rest of his colleagues were sorting out an issue with their GPS systems, Batchvarov and another diver decided to explore under the surface.
"Quite literally, the first thing we saw at the bottom was a cannon," Batchvarov told a small audience here at the Explorers Club headquarters today (Nov. 3).
During that initial, 20-minute dive, the researchers found at least seven cast-iron cannons, some of them large, 18-pounder guns.
"This was one of the most interesting experiences of my life in archaeology, and I have been in this field for about 17 years," Batchvarov said.
None of the sunken ship's timbers have been uncovered yet from the jumbled wreckage, but divers did find relics from life aboard a military vessel, including 72 clay smoking pipes, an array of dining utensils and burned bricks from the ship's galley. They also found a beer jug with three engravings of military generals from antiquity: Joshua, David and Alexander the Great.
Several clues led the team to conclude they were dealing with a Dutch warship from the 17th century. For example, many of the pipes had the mark of a manufacturer that operated in Amsterdam from the 1650s to the 1680s, Batchvarov said.
Because of the size of the cannons found at the site, the archaeologists suspect the wreck could be the 130-foot-long (40 meters), 56-gun warship Huis de Kreuningen. Only one other Dutch vessel, the flagship Bescherming, could have supported such large guns, but it survived the battle, Batchvarov said.
The French boarded the Huis de Kreuningen during the Battle of Tobago. To avoid capture, the Dutch captain, Roemer Vlacq, blew up the ship. The blaze spread and destroyed the French flagship Glorieux. Despite their major losses, the Dutch, led by commodore Jacob Binckes, were ultimately successful in holding back the French. (Years earlier, Binckes had re-captured New York for the Dutch; the city was, however, returned to England shortly after.)
Without proper conservation facilities nearby, the artifacts Batchvarov and his colleagues discovered had to be reburied underwater. But the project has just been awarded a grant from the U.S. State Department's Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation so that the artifacts can be conserved and displayed in Trinidad and Tobago. Batchvarov and his colleagues plan to return to the site next year; their main goal is to establish the extent of the wreck.

Live Science