Posted on 07/20/2013 5:00:58 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Sometime early in the third century BCE, a ship carrying a cargo of amphoras wrecked near a rocky shore on the Albanian coastline. These ancient ceramic vases will break upon impact, but do not disintegrate once they have come to rest on the sea floor. This durability has left them as the sole witnesses to many ancient shipwrecks, and the stories they have to tell have transformed our understanding of history.
During an underwater survey in July of 2007, conducted by the RPM Nautical Foundation, researchers discovered a grouping of these amphoras resting on the seabed. About forty of them remain visible above the accumulating sand.
Expedition Summary
The Waitt Institute and RPM Nautical Foundation teamed up for this reconnaissance mission and invited Dr. Nicolle Hirschfeld to lead the research team. The goal of the 10-day expedition was to evaluate the potential of this shipwreck for archaeological excavation. The research team dived the wreck site in order to examine the seabed topography, to identify the area of scatter, and to confirm or revise the initial report of the types, quantity, and preservation of the finds.
The accomplished recon provided insight for planning an excavation project for the site, including a determination of the equipment, funds, and personnel that will be needed to excavate, record, and conserve the finds properly. At the same time, Dr. Hirschfeld acted as an ambassador for the proposed project to various Albanian officials, educators, and students, with the hope of exciting interest in a collaborative enterprise and to learn of available facilities and expertise.
(Excerpt) Read more at wid.waittinstitute.org ...
RPM Nautical Foundation albania (image search)
from the FRchives:
Diving into History: Corinthian Shipwrecks [ Albania ]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2292115/posts
Modern research, sigh. Or, they could have brought one up. But, go for the research gold!
I always find it interesting that I must fork out my money to fund these adventures but these people never seem to do volunteer work.
For the last time, I’m the one who told the Captain to hang a left at the Aegean Sea. If he’d have listened to-—
I mean....
No one saw me.
You can’t prove anything.
I know nothing about this incident.
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