Shipwreck found in Black Sea is 'world's oldest intact' - Sensationalist Headlines

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45951132 My advisor was one of the leads on this project, they found a lot of wrecks (including a bunch of Cossack boats), but this is one of the biggest finds of theirs. It's too deep for people dive on, so it'll likely stay there and they'll attempt any further study with more ROVs. He gave a presentation on the project earlier this year, it was really exciting and he was thrilled that he got to help settle a long standing debate in the field: that of Ancient Greek Rudders (they used oars on the port and starboard side), their shape, and how they were held in place. One side said the artistic representations on Amphorae and what not were incorrect and couldn't work. The other side said the artistic representations were correct. Turns out the artwork was right!

Amazing find!

IIRC shipwrecks in the Black Sea are better preserved because of the high salt content, right?

That's insanely cool.

A boat from the exact period in which Assassin's Creed Odyssey is set? I think Ubisoft took their marketing campaign a bit far.

Wish they could pull it out into the surface somehow without needing to send divers down there, I bet there's some great artifacts inside there just buried in the sand along with half the ship.

O2 Content (rather the lack thereof) is a bigger factor in this case, although salinity, depth, and temperature also play roles.

According to the article "The reason the trading vessel, dating back to around 400 BC, has remained in such good condition for so long is that the water is anoxic, or free of oxygen."

Which is expensive even for wrecks that aren't 2000m deep. I'm not even sure what processes would be used, and my advisor didn't mention any interest in that. Because then you have to find an institution willing to preserve and study the wreck, which is also costly (and the preservation aspect can last for decades as they stabilize the materials). It would certainly be cool and a lot could be learned, but right now I don't think the technology or money exists for such a thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s4P5pYYswc

Ah yes the great oar debate. I remember my nautical archaeology professor taking a stance on it but I forget what his rant was about. I might have to email him about this. He worked on the Uluburun wreck but we talked about all kinds.

AS soon as they pull it out of there, its existence clock shortens infinitely to about 20 years max. That's the thing about pulling preserved historic shit out of where we find them and put them in places where similar shit wasn't usually found; They disappear. We've lost mummies, color on paintings, documents. Hell, even copper roofs on buildings get fucked in no time. It's a tradeoff we don't know how to eliminate yet and i'd rather we didn't even remotely consider compromising. Let's leave it where it is until we know how to actually preserve it for more than 20-80 years. I'm actually kind of appalled at how current museums and archaeologists engage with the things they find. It's like there's only the option of crudely recording and removing the item. Leave it the fuck where it is, mark coordinates, plan expeditions to observe and record, return when we know how to preserve. But i guess that leaves it open for artifact hunters... Fuck!

But that doesn't make money!

Oh, let me know what he says! My advisor specializes in 17th Century Age of Sail stuff, but he is good friends with this project's lead and is also Bulgarian (hence why he was asked to be one of the leads). This is already best practice within Archeaology across the globe. Unless you are able to actively preserve and study the site its left be for future archeaolgoists with better technology to deal with. So idk where you're getting your info about them only "crudely recording and removing" items is from.

Such findings always fascinate me.

The article says it’s so deep down, any artifact hunters are unlikely to reach it. So this one is relatively safe from that at least

That doesn't stop people from trying though, When the Titanic was rediscovered, Robert Ballard believed that the wreck should be left untouched, which means he didn't claim the site under maritime rules, which left the door open for less responsible artifact hunters. I think one of those expeditions caused the crow's nest to fall off the mast and down into the cargo hold, and yet another stole the original memorial plaque left by Ballard's team.