Wreck from 2000 years ago found in Crimea - video

A team of Russian archaeologists has discovered a magnificently preserved wooden Roman ship, sunk to the bottom of the Black Sea off the coast of Crimea. Preliminary findings suggest that the wreck dates from the 2nd or 3rd century and may be the remains of an ancient trading vessel.

The head of the archaeological expedition “Neptune” – Roman Dunayev said that this is the first so well preserved wooden wreck, presumably from the Roman period, that has been discovered in Crimea.

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Scientists found an iron anchor on the wreck, which allowed them to determine the origin and age of the vessel discovered at a depth of 85 metres. The vessel measures 22 metres long and 6 metres wide and has features characteristic of Roman-era trading vessels. The vessel also has a large mast over half a metre in diameter.

Now archaeologists are studying the discovered site to find out when the ship sank. The expedition “Neptune”, runs from the beginning of May until the end of October and is sponsored by the presidential grant fund within the project “Crimea, the crossroads of civilizations”. The goal is to examine the artifacts found so far and search for new ones.

The expedition had previously found more than ten paintings, some of them tentatively attributed to the famous Russian painter Ivan Aivazovsky. The canvases were on board the steamer “General Kotzebue”, which sank at the end of the 19th century, about 12 nautical miles off the Tarchankutsky Peninsula, in western Crimea.

The ship was built in Britain in 1866 and named after Pavel Kotzebue, Governor of Novorossiya. It was operated by the Russian Navigation and Steam Transport Company. It was the first steamer to pass through the Suez Canal in November 1869. During this voyage, the ship carried a large Russian delegation, with Ivan Aivazovsky among its members. The painter was to immortalise the ceremony of the opening of the canal and the building itself.

The steamer sank in April 1895 after colliding with another ship.

Source: untvweb.com

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