Sailors may have cruised the Med 14,000 years ago

Archaeologists in Cyprus have discovered what they believe could be the oldest evidence yet that organized groups of ancient mariners were plying the east Mediterranean, possibly as far back as 14,000 years ago... about 30 miles away from the closest land mass, may have been gradually populated about that time, and up to 2,000 years earlier than previously thought... The discovery at a coastal site on the island's northwest has revealed chipped tools submerged in the sea and made with local stone which could be the earliest trace yet of human activity in Cyprus. U.S. and Cypriot archaeologists conducting the research have known since 2004 that Cyprus was used by small groups of voyagers on hunting expeditions for pygmy elephants... Flourentzos and Davis said the new find told archaeologists nomads knew the island well enough to find tool material, suggesting they were repeat visitors. Archaeologists say the first human settlements in Cyprus date from 10,000 BC and are located inland. Logically, the coastal settlements should be older, and in Aspros dig case where a good deal of it is now in the sea, possibly up to 2,000 years older... "This was not a case of one guy, or a family blown off course. This is a number of persons coming to Cyprus, these were conscious, repeated visits," Davis said.

Well put, and I wholeheartedly agree.

Deepest Wreck
by Thomas Dettweiler,
Thomas Bethge,
and Brett Phaneuf
Archaeology
The discovery of a 2,300-year-old shipwreck between the classical trading centers of Rhodes and Alexandria adds to the corpus of evidence that is challenging the long-held assumption that ancient sailors lacked the navigational skills to sail large distances across open water, and were instead restricted to following the coastline during their voyages. Four other possibly ancient wrecks lie nearby.

this next one is almost certainly a dead link, but the full story may have been posted by someone somewhere sometime. :')

Deep Sea Serendipity
by Kathy A. Svitil
Because Greek shipwrecks have only been found near the shore, historians assumed that Greek sailors cautiously navigated along coastlines, never venturing into open seas. A newly discovered wreck, hundreds of miles from shore, proves that the ancient Greeks were far more adventurous than they've been given credit for. Ocean explorer Thomas Dettweiler of Nauticos, a deep-ocean exploration company based in Hanover, Maryland, and his crew spotted the wreck in May 1999, while hunting for an Israeli submarine that had sunk in 1968 in the eastern Mediterranean. The 60-foot-long ship lay nestled in sediment 10,000 feet beneath the surface, several thousand feet deeper than any previous wreck. From the size and style of the amphorae, archaeologists from The Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University guess that they were made on the island of Kos, near Rhodes, 2,300 years ago. They probably held wine. The ship might have been traveling between Rhodes and Alexandria, two major ports. Five other possible wrecks have been identified nearby, says Dettweiler, who plans another expedition this summer to get a closer look at all six sites.

The point to be taken here is, most ancient wrecks may indeed be found near shore -- because that's where most of the danger lies (nasty rocks and shoals) -- but the best stuff may be found in deep waters, because they've likely remained untouched and unseen during all that time. :')

The late Willard Bascom was a mentor / idol of Robert Ballard. I saw this book at the library one day a few years ago, and as I read the prologue I realized who this guy was -- the prologue was quoted in a story about Ballard's finding of a Byzantine vessel in the anoxic (?) depths of the Black Sea. "It sits upright on the bottom, lightly covered by the sea dust of 2,500 years," he wrote. "The wave-smashed deckhouse and splintered bulwarks tell of the violence of its last struggle with the sea. A stub of a mast still remains."

Deep Water, Ancient Ships:
The Treasure Vault of the Mediterranean
by Willard Bascom

Thanks. Supposedly there are other submerged ancient towns at/on Alizea, Alonissos, Alonnisos, Elounda, Epidavros, Karpathos, Kefalos, Koftou, Kryonerii, Methoni, Pavlopetri, Plytra, Psathoura, and Stavros, to name a few.

Not sure where I quoted this from, probably a Berlitz guide to Greece or something:

Kalymnos, an island in the Aegean just north of Kos, between Kos and Samos, has some nice beaches (it says here), and a coastline with plenty of coves, cliffs, and caves (just love those Berlitz alliterative descriptions). In 535 AD an earthquake split off what is now an islet called Telendos and in the process submerged an ancient town still visible under the water (attention divers!).

The Globe, Ancient Times, msg 719, May 21, 2000 20:15:29 EDT

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe

Just updating the GGG info, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.