2nd shipwreck confirmed from 13th century Mongolian invasion

A shipwreck found here is the second confirmed vessel from a 13th century Mongolian fleet that foundered in a typhoon in a failed attempt to invade Japan, researchers said July 2.

Archaeologists from the University of the Ryukyus and the Matsuura city board of education determined that the wreck was a part of the Mongolian invasion fleet partly based on its structure.

Chinese ceramic wares dating from the 12th to 13th centuries were discovered in and around the wreck, backing up their conclusion, they said.

The research team, which is surveying around the Takashima Kozaki underwater archaeological site, discovered the shipwreck last autumn around 200 meters off the southern coast of Takashima island and 15 meters below the surface. The remains of the ship measure 12 meters long and maximum 3 meters wide. The wreck was lying on the seabed apparently with its bow pointing southward.

Yoshifumi Ikeda, a professor of archaeology at the University of the Ryukyus who is leading the research project, said his team has found potential shipwrecks from the Mongolian invasion at three other locations.

“We have successfully confirmed the two ships from the Mongolian invasion, and further research on them is expected to lead to the discovery of even more sunken Mongolian ships,” Ikeda said.

The first confirmed Mongolian warship was discovered in 2011 around 1.7 kilometers west of the wreck found last year. Numerous artifacts have been found on the seabed in the Takashima Kozaki site from wrecks of a fleet dispatched in the second Mongolian attempt to invade Japan in 1281. The two invasion attempts in 1274 and 1281 ended in vain as the both fleets were destroyed in typhoons.

The latest ship is estimated to have measured about 20 meters from bow to stern and 6 to 7 meters wide, slightly smaller than the first ship.

Its body was split by nine wooden bulkheads and was loaded with rocks that were apparently used as ballast. The boat’s keel has not been found. The archaeologists believe it remains buried at the bottom of the sea. About 20 artifacts, including a white porcelain bowl, brown glaze pottery vase, roof tiles and ironware, have been discovered in and around the wreck, the researchers said.
_________________
Reference:

The Asahi Shimbun. 2015. “2nd shipwreck confirmed from 13th century Mongolian invasion”. The Asahi Shimbun. Posted: July 3, 2015. Available online: http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201507030010

Huge Fossil Graveyard Found In Underwater Caves

_________________
Live Science. 2015. “Huge Fossil Graveyard Found In Underwater Caves | Video”. Live Science. Posted: January 8, 2015. Available online: http://www.livescience.com/49371-huge-fossil-graveyard-found-in-underwater-caves-video.html

Archaeologists have discovered a sunken village from millennia ago

The first Stone Age settlement identified in Polish waters has been discovered in the lake Gil Wielki, Iława Lake District (Warmia and Mazury) by underwater archaeologists led by Dr. Andrzej Pydyn from the Department of Underwater Archaeology, Institute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń.

The discovery was made in the project carried out in cooperation with the Warsaw branch of the Scientific Association of Polish Archaeologists.

"In shallow water in the reservoir we found a large amount of animal bones, remains of tools made of antler and numerous fragments of pottery, used at various times by ancient communities. Among them, the fragments that caught our attention relate to the tradition of late Neolithic, probably associated with the so-called Corded Ware culture" - told PAP Dr. Andrzej Pydyn.

Researchers are now waiting for the results of physical and chemical analyzes, which should ultimately confirm the suggested, the early timeline of the flooded village. According to Dr. Pydyn, examples of other countries show that the sites of this type have very high research potential that allows you to recreate not only the material culture, but also the environment of prehistoric communities. The researcher noted that science does not know many Corded Ware culture settlements, which further increases the importance of the discovery.

It is not only this year find of archaeologists from Toruń in Iława Lake District. The result of this work include finding several new potential archaeological sites in lakes Iławskie, Drwęckie and Grażymowskie.

During the study, archaeologists used modern non-invasive methods. The most important of them include sonar scan and side scan. This allowed scientists to create detailed bathymetric maps (maps showing depth) and locate anomalies in the bottom of the examined water bodies, indicating places of potential interest to archaeologists. To check what was beneath the bottom, they used penetrating radar that shows the anomalies in bottom sediments.

These studies are the result of the cooperation between the Warsaw branch of the Scientific Association of Polish Archaeologists and the Department of Underwater Archaeology of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. The project entitled "Identification of archaeological resources of lakes and coastal areas of Iława Lake District" is a continuation of the work carried out in 2013, is funded by the National Heritage Institute in the framework of the programme "Cultural Heritage" and priority "Protection of Archaeological Sites".
_________________
2014. “Archaeologists have discovered a sunken village from millennia ago”. PAP: Science & Scholarship in Poland. Posted: October 15, 2014. Available online: http://www.naukawpolsce.pap.pl/en/news/news,402280,archaeologists-have-discovered-a-sunken-village-from-millennia-ago.html

NOAA team reveals forgotten ghost ships off Golden Gate

San Francisco area divers provided valuable assistance to help identify wrecks

A team of NOAA researchers today confirmed the discovery just outside San Francisco's Golden Gate strait of the 1910 shipwreck SS Selja and an unidentified early steam tugboat wreck tagged the "mystery wreck." The researchers also located the 1863 wreck of the clipper ship Noonday, currently obscured by mud and silt on the ocean floor.

These and other shipwreck investigations mark the first mission of a two-year project to locate, identify and better understand some of the estimated 300 wrecks in Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, and the adjacent Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

"The waters of the sanctuary and the park are one of the great undersea museums in the nation," said James Delgado, director of Maritime Heritage for the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. "These wrecks tell the powerful story of the people who helped build California and opened America to the Pacific for nearly two centuries. Finding the remains of these ships links the past to the present."

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and the U.S. National Park Service, which began researching the wrecks in the 1980s, published the first detailed inventory and history of the submerged heritage of the region in 1990. Since then, Robert Schwemmer, project co-leader and NOAA maritime archaeologist, has conducted new research in archives around the world, and interviewed fishermen and pioneering wreck divers like Bruce and Robert Lanham of San Francisco.

The Lanham brothers have discovered a number of historic Bay-area wrecks. Bruce Lanham joined the recent NOAA expedition, and with his brother led the NOAA team to a widely scattered wreck site they believed was the Selja. In 1910 the steamer Selja sank in a fatal collision, which featured prominently in a legal case that ultimately was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court over a key aspect of maritime law, the "rule of the road."

"Bruce and Bob were crucial to the success of the mission as was volunteer Gary Fabian, who re-analyzed hours of NOAA sonar data to pinpoint wreck sites," said Schwemmer.

One of the targets Fabian pointed out was the right size and in the right location to be the clipper ship Noonday, lost in 1863 and part of the fleet of fast-sailing vessels that brought men and supplies to California during and after the Gold Rush. "Noonday Rock," north of the Farallones, was named for the wreck.

In addition to the newly identified ships, Vitad Pradith, a researcher with NOAA's Office of Coast Survey Navigation Response Team 6, completed the first-ever sonar survey of the submerged portions of the wrecks of the tankers Frank H. Buck and Lyman Stewart. The engines of both vessels are visible at low tide off San Francisco's Lands End, inside the waters of Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

"Buck and Stewart are probably the best known wrecks in the park," said Stephen Haller, park historian, who joined the project team on the just-completed mission. "We now have a better understanding of how the two wrecks lie next to each other, and what has survived beneath the surface."

The NOAA team used remote controlled cameras and sensing equipment and will continue to analyze data from the recent dives, conduct additional research, and plan for the next phase. Brian Johnson, Gulf of the Farallones sanctuary deputy superintendent, said findings from current and future research expeditions will be shared with the public.

"The shipwrecks off the Golden Gate are places to explore, discover and appreciate our country's maritime cultural heritage," Johnson said. "Through the study, protection and promotion of this diverse legacy, Americans can learn more about our shared past."
_________________
EurekAlert. 2014. “NOAA team reveals forgotten ghost ships off Golden Gate”. EurekAlert. Posted: September 16, 2014. Available online: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-09/nh-ntr091514.php

Underwater Cave Full of Ancient Bones to Be Mapped in 3D

The bones of ground sloths, saber-toothed cats and other creatures of the Ice Age have been discovered in a deep underwater cavern on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, but the exploration of the site is actually happening on the surface, hundreds of miles away, in a lab in San Diego.

Spelunkers first discovered the cave, called Hoyo Negro, seven years ago, but it was accessible only to specially trained cave divers. Now, a technique that combines photos to create 3D maps is providing a way for archaeologists to get a good look inside, without making the dangerous descent into the depths of the cave.

"If we can document all the artifacts, make a photo map of the bottom of the pit and create a 3D visualization that puts the archaeologists and paleontologists there — without ever getting wet — those discoveries and interpretations are made possible," Dominique Rissolo, a visiting scholar at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), said in a statement.

So far, explorers in this cave have discovered a human skeleton from the Ice Age, and remains of gomphotheres (ancient elephant-like animals), prehistoric ground sloths and saber-toothed cats. Archaeologists think Hoyo Negro holds more remains and could provide valuable insight into Native American history; they just need a way to get their hands on the bones.

Hoyo Negro — which, appropriately, means "Black Hole" — is part of the underwater labyrinth known as the Sac Actun cave system. The cave is more than 100 feet (30 meters) deep, and divers get only an hour of bottom time on each dive, further complicating the exploration of the site.

But researchers at the UCSD's Center of Interdisciplinary Science for Art, Architecture and Archaeology (CISA3) have come up with a solution: By tracking and lining up features in a series of photos of the cave taken by divers, researchers can create what are called 3D structure-from-motion models.

The imaging technique can even be used to create models of the artifacts in the cave. The dive team brought a a small mount into the cave and photographed the skull of the skeleton discovered there. Then, back on the surface, scientists at CISA3 stitched together the photos and created a 3D model for archaeologists to study.

"The in-depth post-expedition analysis happens digitally, in the form of 3D models that can be studied interactively and collaboratively, as well as precise physical replicas created on CISA3's 3D printers," Falko Kuester, director of CISA3, said in a statement. "Meanwhile, the original artifacts can remain undisturbed where they were originally discovered."

Even though the underwater cavern was discovered in 2007, the first study detailing what the cave holds was not published until this year. The biggest discovery is a 13,000-year-old skeleton of a Paleoamerican teenage girl that might provide some insight into the genetic history of Native Americans.

The archaeologists studying the site nicknamed the skeleton Naia, and believe she probably fell to her death while collecting water during the Pleistocene age, long before the cave filled with water. 

Scientists analyzed DNA from Naia's teeth and discovered that her genes came from an Asian lineage only seen before in Native Americans. The DNA supports the theory that Native Americans descended from a group of Siberians who entered America by crossing a land bridge that used to exist over the Bering Strait.

The team of researchers and divers exploring the cave are now considering ways to use acoustic mapping and imaging sensors to help create even more detailed visualizations of Hoyo Negro.
________________
References:

Dickerson, Kelly. 2014. “Underwater Cave Full of Ancient Bones to Be Mapped in 3D”. Live Science. Posted: Available online: http://www.livescience.com/46421-underwater-cave-hoyo-negro-3d-map.html

A drowned land – 11,000 year old settlement of Hanö Bay

During the Early Holocene in southern Scandinavia sea levels were rising and large areas of the North Sea and the Baltic which had once been dry land were inundated and now lie beneath metres of cold waters.

Partly because of the growing exploitation of the continental shelves for resources including wind-farms, oil drilling and mining industries, this unique landscape is coming to light with the use of new technologies such as high resolution photogrammetric 3D-modelling and hydro acoustic mapping. This is allowing for remarkable visualisations of the submerged landscapes complete with sunken forests.

Combining environmental and archaeological data

In the Baltic, due to a combination of oscillating sea-levels  and the lack of common shipworm, the preservation of organic matter from the Preboreal, Boreal/Atlantic periods gave the researchers a unique possibility of combining both environmental and archaeological data from a period which contained several important climatic and cultural changes for the region.

Recent reports have highlighted the wealth of information that is being revealed on the seabed by Södertörn University Senior Lecturer Bjorn Nilsson and a team from Södertörn and Lunds University during both archaeological dives and marine survey investigations.

A drowned landscape

The team has uncovered a drowned landscape complete with trees and all the signs of human activity, including artefacts such as flint tools, animal horns, and modified auroch bones as well as ropes and fishtraps.

Nilsson explains that in contrast to dry land sites, this anaerobic environment has allowed the preservation of most organic remains.    Around 11,000 and 9,000 years ago, the sea level was up to 20 metres lower than it is today, and this forested coastal valley beside a river would have been a perfect location for early Mesolithic populations to exploit for resources.

However, before the maritime archaeologists can begin to dig, it requires careful investigation and mapping of the landscape below sea level, says Björn Nilsson, who has just returned after a first week of fieldwork in Blekinge.

Earliest settlers

On previous dives Arne Sjöström, a marine archaeologist at Södertörn University and fellow marine archaeologist January Öijeberg at Malmö Museum, found the world’s oldest surviving fixed fishing system – several fish traps of woven hazel branches, which has been C14 radiocarbon dated to circa 9,000 years old.

The area that the scientists are examining would have once been a forested landscape before the gradual inundation of the land turned it first to lagoon and then submerged the area beneath what is now the Baltic Sea.

Using a multidisciplinary approach, the archaeologists, geologists, marine biologists, geographers and environmental scientists can create a new picture of life and climate 11,000 years ago. This research will also increase our knowledge of prehistoric settlements and resource usage in ways that inland sites are just not able to do.
________________
References:

Past Horizons. 2014. “A drowned land – 11,000 year old settlement of Hanö Bay”. Past Horizons. Posted: January 29, 2014. Available online: http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/01/2014/drowned-land-11000-year-old-settlement-hano-bay

"Haunted" Maya Underwater Cave Holds Human Bones

Underwater archaeologists have found human bones at the bottom of a Maya cenote in Mexico.

A flooded sinkhole in southern Mexico so frightens nearby villagers that they won't go anywhere near it. The ancient Maya seem to have kept their distance too.

A recent underwater survey in the cavern, or cenote, located in Mexico's Yucatán, has found a likely reason for its fearsome reputation—the floors of its two chambers are littered with human bones.

To investigate the cenote, archaeologist Bradley Russell and his team spent two weeks last August diving into its submerged reaches. Russell received support from the NGS/WaittGrants Program for this work.

A rappel of 40 feet (11.5 meters) took Russell from the lip of the cenote (photo below) to the water's surface within the cave. On the way down he passed massive stalactites and the long roots of thirsty trees stretching toward the moisture below.

The locals have named this natural well Sac Uayum (pronounced sock-wye-OOM).

The cenote sits just outside the ruins of the ancient Maya city of Mayapán, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Mérida, the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán.

In its heyday, between 1150 and 1450, Mayapán was a major political center with at least 17,000 residents and a stone wall that enclosed 1.5 square miles (4.2 square kilometers) of the city.

Russell was especially intrigued by the location of Sac Uayum. Mayapán's wall curved in a way that put the cenote just outside the city limits, then turned back to include a nearby cenote known as X'coton (pronounced eesh-coh-TOHN).

"The rest of the wall doesn't zigzag like that," Russell said in a phone interview. "This part is noticeably different from everything else that the path of the wall does."

About 40 cenotes were included inside the city wall and would have served as vital sources of water in the semi-arid limestone plateau of the Yucatán Peninsula.

In fact, Mayapán was probably built in this location precisely because there were so many cenotes in the area. As part of their research last summer, Russell and his team identified 150 previously unknown cenotes around Mayapán, located during four days of aerial laser mapping.

Offerings to the Gods

Before the archaeologists begin their dives, shaman Teodormio San Sores prepares for a traditional ceremony amid the steam from food offerings cooking on a fire.

In the modern Maya language, the ceremony is called jeets' lu'um (pronounced hets loom), literally "calming of the Earth."

Its purpose is to ask the gods for permission to enter the cenote, and to placate the cenote's legendary guardian—an enormous feathered serpent with a horse's head that the locals believe will snatch children who get too close.

The demon guardian is a combination of the feathered serpent of ancient Mexican myth and the steeds that the Spanish conquistadors brought to the New World.

Similarly, the ceremony combines beliefs from the ancient and colonial eras.

San Sores set up an altar on the table, oriented to the four cardinal points of the Maya universe and to the central axis that was thought to connect the Earth to the sky and the underworld. But he also placed a Christian cross on the altar.

His prayers addressed the old gods but included modern religious references as well.

He offered three foods to the east, west, north, and south: stewed chicken; a mixture of cornmeal, sugar, and water called saka'; and a thickened, spiced broth called k'ol.

He also left an offering at the cenote's entrance for the serpent—a gourd bowl filled with saka'.

When the divers finally penetrated deep into the cenote, their motions created a spooky parallel to the clouds of steam in this image. As they swam, they stirred up the limestone sediment, which then clouded the water.

At the same time, a limestone fog arose outside the cenote from a small fissure in the ground. "It was genuinely strange the first time we saw it," says Russell.

Taking a Dive

Several days into the cave exploration, archaeologist Lisseth Pedroza Fuentes checks out a submerged rockfall filled with bones in the first chamber.

"From the very first dive, we had seen skulls," says Russell. "At the time of this dive, we were still doing an initial assessment and putting together a plan of action for mapping the cenote."

Flattened Skull

An adult skull sitting upright amid the first chamber's rockfall debris likely belonged to a woman.

The top of the cranium was intentionally flattened during infancy. This method of deformation was widely practiced by the ancient Maya and is consistent with skulls that have been found in the customary burials from this same period.

"The hole in the forehead is probably postmortem," says Russell, "not the cause of death."

So far his team has identified ten skulls in this chamber, with more likely awaiting discovery among the rocks and sediment.

Skulls and Bones

Skeletal remains scattered at the bottom of the rockfall slope include pieces of several human skulls and some long bones from modern cattle.

Drowned Cow

A bovine skull lies upside down on the rocky debris in the first chamber.

"This must have been a cow that wasn't smart enough to avoid the hole in the ground," says Russell. "It's definitely not pre-Hispanic." If a cow takes a tumble into a cenote, there's no escape—it drowns, and eventually its bones drift to the bottom.

Herds of free-roaming cattle graze in the bush here, and ranchers use the area's cenotes like wells to water them.

Nice Teeth

The light from Russell's flash illuminates a brown, horseshoe-shaped lower jaw lying on the debris slope of the first chamber.

"All the molars have emerged, but the teeth are in beautiful condition—they weren't worn down over a long time," says Russell. "That means this is a young adult, about 18 years old."

The hard enamel of teeth often protects internal tissue, so Russell is hoping that this set will provide a good carbon-14 date for the cenote's human remains.

The Abyss

At the bottom of the first chamber, Lisseth Pedroza Fuentes follows an intriguing tunnel that leads to a second chamber.

"This is very technical diving," says Russell. "You're crawling on your belly with your tanks against the ceiling." And there's no popping to the surface if something goes wrong.

The second chamber, completely filled with water, is about two times the size of the first. It has no opening to the sky and plunges to a depth of about 115 feet (35 meters). Part of its floor was also strewn with bones.

Aftermath of an Avalanche

Human remains in the second chamber include this partial skull that sits topsy-turvy amid rocks and sediment.

Russell believes that all the bones lay in the first chamber, originally. But at some point the floor collapsed, sending skulls, ribs, and femurs cascading down into the second chamber along with chunks of limestone.

Bare Head

In the second chamber, the top of another skull emerges from the sediment.

Russell's team spotted five skulls here. That brought the total from both chambers to 15, with indications that there may be more hidden in the debris.

Why does this cenote hold the remains of so many people, who appear to be males and females, teenagers and adults?

Most residents of Mayapán were buried under or near their houses, so this wasn't a normal cemetery.

The bones bear no marks that would indicate cause of death, so the people probably weren't sacrificed.

Other artifacts found here are mostly pieces of plain water pitchers, so there's nothing to indicate that these people were among the elite and getting some kind of special treatment.

Russell wonders whether the location of Sac Uayum is a clue.

For starters, it lies to the south of Mayapán, the direction that the Maya associated with the underworld—humankind's mythical place of origin, known as Xibalba (pronounced shee BALL bah). The dead might have been buried here to await the next cycle of creation.

Also, the builders of the city wall seem to have deliberately excluded the cenote from the city.

"Suppose these were plague victims," says Russell. "You wouldn't want them near the rest of the population. And you wouldn't want to drink the water either."

The evidence fits that theory, and so does the long-standing taboo.

Over time, the real reason to stay away from the cenote may have been forgotten, but the legend of the feathered, horse-headed serpent continued to keep people at a distance.

Older residents of the nearby village of Telchaquillo tell stories of people seeing the serpent perching in a tree, leaping up, spinning around three times, and diving into the water. But those sightings all happened once upon a time, as the stories go.

Younger villagers tend not to believe such tall tales.

At the Brink

Perched on the limestone cap that partly covers the entrance to Sac Uayum, Russell contemplates the future.

He hopes to return to the cenote to continue mapping, and to excavate the debris slopes in both chambers.

He and his team have been working at Mayapán since the year 2000. "This was our best season ever," he says. "I don't know how we could top that."

But who knows? He could very well uncover more clues as to why people were once laid to rest in this watery grave.
________________
References:

Williams, A.R. 2014. “"Haunted" Maya Underwater Cave Holds Human Bones”. National Geographic News. Posted: January 16, 2014. Available online: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140116-maya-mexico-yucatan-cenote-bones-haunted-taboo-archaeology-science/

Archaeologists Begin Underwater Investigations in Iran

The port town of Siraf is located in the northwestern part of Bushehr Province in southern Iran and has a long rich history. Now, a joint team led by Iranian archaeologist Hossein Tofiqian and US-based Iranian expert Sorna Khakzad, have begun work on the partly submerged port.

Searching beneath the waves

At one time, the port had been one of the major centres for marketing pearls and silk in the region, but has gradually submerged over the centuries. The team is currently working to identify any trace of the port structures before deciding on a full excavation strategy. The American members of the team have brought all the specialist equipment necessary for underwater excavations.

Three or four main periods of archaeological activity have previously been identified at the site. The earliest layer dating back to the Parthian period (247 BCE – 224 CE), as well as a major level of activity relating to the Sassanid (224 CE– 651 CE) and early Islamic periods, almost all of which now lie beneath the waves. According to some historians, the city of Siraf had a population of about 300,000 during the early Islamic period and was one of the largest in the region, however, today, just 7000 people live there.

Previous work

According to David Whitehouse, one of the first archaeologists to excavate the ancient ruins of Siraf, marine trade between the Persian Gulf and Far East began to flourish at this port due to the vast expansion of trade in consumer goods and luxury items at the time. The first contact between Siraf and China occurred in 185 AD and by the 4th century it was a busy port. However, over time trade routes shifted to the Red Sea and Siraf was forgotten. Discovered there in past archaeological excavations are ivory objects from east Africa, stone from India, and lapis from Afghanistan. There are also the ruins of the luxurious houses of extremely rich traders who made their wealth through the port’s success.

In 2006, the remains of a shipwreck were found near the port of Siraf. Initial studies revealed that it was a merchant ship belonging to either the Parthian or Sassanid periods. It was discovered at a depth of 70 metres with more than 40 ceramic amphora-like jars – but with no handles – scattered along the seabed.

The British Museum also had a major research project on the site from 2007-2009 resulting in all of the finds and samples being registered and entered on the Museum’s central database. These records form the basis of further research and analysis of the collection and serve as a primary record of the objects themselves. Specification, descriptions and images of the finds from Siraf can now be accessed by searching the Collection database online.

A central objective of the project was to use the study of the finds to characterise and illustrate the full range of materials typically represented at a major Early Islamic (about seventh to eleventh century) port in the Indian Ocean. Particular attention has been given to the ceramics, which account for approximately half of the collection. Early Islamic pottery manufactured within the Persian Gulf region has been recovered from coastal sites distributed throughout the Indian Ocean from the southern tip of Japan to South Africa. By improving our understanding of pottery from a single influential port, it is possible to appreciate interactions that took place over a far broader geographic area.
___________________
References:

Past Horizons. 2012. "Archaeologists Begin Underwater Investigations in Iran". Past Horizons. Posted: July 27, 2012. Available online: http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/07/2012/archeologists-begin-underwater-investigations-in-iran

A henge beneath the water of the stenness loch? Time will tell

Survey work in the Loch of Stenness has revealed what could be a massive prehistoric monument lying underwater to the south of the Ring of Brodgar.



The underwater “anomaly” has come to light in a project looking at prehistoric sea level change in Orkney. The project, The Rising Tide: Submerged Landscape of Orkney, is a collaboration between the universities of St Andrews, Wales, Dundee, Bangor and Aberdeen.

But although it is tempting to speculate that the ring-shaped feature, which lies just off the loch’s shore, is the remains of a henge — a circular or oval-shaped flat area enclosed and delimited by a boundary earthwork (usually a ditch with an external bank) — or perhaps a prehistoric quarry, at this stage the project leaders are urging caution.

Orkney-based archaeologist, Caroline Wickham-Jones, a lecturer at the University of Aberdeen, explained: “The preliminary results from the high-resolution geophysical sensing are suggesting that there is an unusual ‘object’ in the shallow water just off the shore, but more work is needed before we can identify it or even confirm whether it is a natural, perhaps geological, feature, or something man-made.”

When prehistoric Orcadians started to build the stone circles in Stenness, the landscape would have been much different to what it is today and the sea would have been about a metre below current levels. Prior to the sea coming in, the loch area was stands of open freshwater, with reed beds — probably much like the landscape around the Loons, in Birsay, today.

Previous studies have shown that the sea around Orkney reached its present level about 2000BC, but even then, because there is a rock “lip” at the Brig o’ Waithe which held the sea back, the impact of the rising water in the Loch of Stenness was a bit slower.

Caroline Wickham-Jones added, “Archaeologists study what’s there, but sometimes it’s more interesting to ask what’s not there. The early Neolithic tombs around the bay for example: where are they? Many other early Neolithic tombs in Orkney — such as Unstan — are found near present sea level, on low-lying land. Were the earliest tombs around the Bay of Firth built on land that has since been covered by sea?”

The surveys have detected two intriguing anomalies in the bay, one of which is visible in aerial photographs by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) and also appears on the remote sensing results.

A seismic survey in the bay has helped to shed light on the possible structure of one of these, and now the team plans more diving work to confirm the results.

Read the original story at the Orkney Jar
______________
References:

Past Horizons. 2011. "A henge beneath the water of the stenness loch? Time will tell". Past Horizons. Posted: October 12, 2011. Available online: http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/10/2011/a-henge-beneath-the-water-of-the-stenness-loch-time-will-tell

Roman Ship Carried Live Fish Tank

The ancient Romans might have traded live fish across the Mediterranean Sea by endowing their ships with an ingenious hydraulic system, a new investigation into a second century A.D. wreck suggests.

Consisting of a pumping system designed to suck the sea water into a fish tank, the apparatus has been reconstructed by a team of Italian researchers who analyzed a unique feature of the wreck: a lead pipe inserted in the hull near the keel.

Recovered in pieces from the Adriatic sea in 1999, the ship was carrying a cargo of processed fish when it sank six miles off the coast of Grado in northeastern Italy.

The small trade vessel, which was 55 feet long and 19 feet wide, was packed with some 600 vases called amphoras.They were filled with sardines, salted mackerel, and garum, a fish sauce much loved by the Romans.

Now the archaeologists suspect that some 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of live fish, placed in a tank on the deck in the aft area, might have also been carried by the ship during its sailing life.

"The apparatus shows how a simple small cargo vessel could have been turned into one able to carry live fish. This potentiality, if confirmed by future studies, shows that trading live fish was actually possible in the Roman world," Carlo Beltrame, a marine archaeologist at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice in Italy, told Discovery News.

Indeed, a number of historical accounts have suggested that the Romans might have transported live fish by sea. For example, the scientist and historian Pliny the Elder (23 – 79 A.D.), wrote that live parrotfish were shipped from the Black Sea to the Neapolitan coast in order to introduce the species into the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Measuring 51 inches in length and featuring a diameter of at least 2.7 inches, the unique lead pipe was located in a sort of "small bilge-well" and would have been connected to a hand operated piston pump (which had not been found within the wreck).

Ending with a hole right in the hull, the pipe intrigued the researchers.

"No seaman would have drilled a hole in the keel, creating a potential way for water to enter the hull, unless there was a very powerful reason to do so," Beltrame and colleagues reported in the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology.

According to the researchers, the reason wasn't the need for removing bilge water from the bottom of the boat through the pipe.

Indeed, bucket chain pumps were able to discharge bilge water from the side in a much safer way, possibly recovering between 110 and 225 liters (30 to 60 gallons) of water per minute.

"It seems unlikely that sailors aboard the small Grado ship abandoned the usual chain-pumping apparatus in favor of the more complex bilge pump," Beltrame said.

Rather than serving a bilge pump to send water out of the ship, the pipe could have supported a sucking pump to bring water onto the vessel, the researchers argued.

But what could have been the purpose of such an unusual hydraulic system?

According to Beltrame and colleagues, the ship was too small to justify the presence of the pump to wash the decks or extinguish fires (similar piston-driven suction systems were employed on warships such as Horatio Nelson's HMS Victory).

"Given the ship's involvement in the fish trade, the most logical hypothesis is that the piston pump worked to supply a fish tank with oxygenated water," said Beltrame.

The researchers calculated that the small trade vessel could have carried a tank containing around 4 cubic meters (141 cubic feet) of water.

This water mass would have created no problems for stability while housing some 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of live fish, such as sea bass or sea bream.

Connected to the lead pipe, the hand operated piston pump would have easily allowed the necessary exchange of the water mass.

According to the researchers, the water would have needed to be replaced once every half an hour in order to provide a constant oxygen supply.

"With a flow of 252 liters (66 gallons) per minute, the piston pump would have filled the tank in 16 minutes," Beltrame said.

According to Rita Auriemma, a marine archaeologist at the University of Salento, it is plausible that the hydraulic system in Grado ship served for live fish trade.

"The context in which the ship operated makes this the most logical explanation," Auriemma told Discovery News.

"The near Istria coast was known for numerous vivaria, large enclosures to breed fish. It is possible that the Grado ship transported live fish from these vivaria to large markets in the high Adriatic," Auriemma said.

Indeed, it would have taken about 10 hours to cross the nearly 30 miles of sea that divided the Istria vivaria to the river port of Aquileia, one of the richest Roman towns during the imperial period.

"Such a trip could have been sustained by the live fish only through an apparatus of continuous water exchange similar to that of the Grado ship," Beltrame said.
___________
References:

Lorenzi, Rossella. 2011. "Roman Ship Carried Live Fish Tank". Discovery News. Posted: June 3, 2011. Available online: http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/roman-shipwreck-fish-tank-110603.html

Pictures: Prehistoric American Skull Found in Sea Cave?

Divers carefully place a marker near a human skull found upside down in a large underwater cave near the Caribbean Sea on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula in 2007.

Based on the skull's location, the team believes the remains ended up there about 10,000 years ago—just before the then dry cave was inundated as sea level began rising. If confirmed, that age would make the skull one of the oldest known remains of an early American, or Paleo-Indian.

Though the skull was found alongside bones of a mastodon and other prehistoric animals in 2007, news of the find was released only late last month, to allow time to properly document the site, train the divers in archaeological practices, and coordinate with authorities.

The divers had previously seen Ice Age animal remains in surrounding caves, but the human skull was a surprise. "That's one of the beauties of exploration—you never know what you're going to find," diver Alberto Nava said.

Now comes the tricky part. "We want to figure out the story of Hoyo Negro and how the human and animal remains got there," said Nave, of the Projecto Espeleológico de Tulum (PET) organization and Global Underwater Explorers (GUE).

Read Skull in Underwater Cave May Be Earliest Trace of First Americans, the original article, by Fabio Esteban Amador regarding this skull as it was published February 18, 2011.
_______________
References:

Than, Ker. 2011. "Pictures: Prehistoric American Skull Found in Sea Cave?". National Geographic Pictures. Posted: March 9, 2011. Available online: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/pictures/110309-oldest-skull-americas-underwater-cave-mexico-mastodon-science-first/

Photo Credit: Daniel Riordan-Araujo

L'archéologie marine a le vent en poupe / The Marine Archaeology has the wind in their sails

The following is an article translated from the French. The French article will appear below.

Marine archeology has begun to gradually emerge from the shadows in the Algerian Federation of Rescue, First Aid and Underwater Activities (FASSAS). The latter is now moving towards the science associated with underwater diving.

"We now focus on the scientific niches, such as marine biology, marine archeology and caving," revealed its president, Abdelkader Chekroun, proud to raise the ambitions and plans of the federation he heads.

Scientific diving, or rather underwater dive science, aims to collect information, samples or information for research or teaching.

"We plan to explore the seabed and uncover fossilized objects (wrecks). Algeria, which is an ancient country holds significant archaeological riches," says the head of the federation. Moreover, "the ancient Phoenician shipwrecks have been discovered previously in Algeria," he says. In developing marine archeology, the Algerian Federation of Underwater Sports will provide valuable background information related to ancient history Algeria.

"We can contribute to the writing of ancient history of Algeria, which is overlooked by historians, and this, by providing physical evidence, such as wrecks, ship furnishings, amphorae, etc.." said Mr. Chekroun, who believes that ships that have sunk in ancient times, "can let us know, for example, the nature of the trade Algeria then practiced with the rest of the world."

"Our divers, exploring the seabed, have occassionally found pieces of Roman art, coins, marble ... which can give an idea about the trade, "he added.

The science-oriented activities, in the Algerian Federation of water sports and underwater activities, are becoming increasingly important and will be soon be supported by other equally important fields such as photo, video and film in submarines. FASSAS also plans to organize in the near future an international festival of underwater images in Algeria. The Federation is also working to expand its sphere of activity to the southern regions of the country, with the creation local leagues which organize their activities in rivers, dams, etc.).

Internationally, the president of FASSAS works to create the conditions needed to boost the North African Confederation of Underwater Activities. The year 2011 would also be conducive to revive the project Creation of a Mediterranean Confederation.

The Original Article

L’archéologie marine commence peu à peu à sortir de l’ombre au sein de la Fédération algérienne de sauvetage, de secourisme et des activités subaquatiques (Fassas). Cette dernière s’oriente maintenant vers le volet scientifique lié à cette activité marine et sous-marine. «Nous nous intéressons maintenant aux créneaux scientifiques, comme la biologie marine, la spéléologie et l’archéologie marine», a révélé son président, Abdelkader Chekroun, tout fier d’évoquer les ambitions et projets de la Fédération qu’il dirige. La plongée scientifique, ou plus exactement la plongée subaquatique à vocation scientifique, a pour objectif de recueillir des données, échantillons ou informations à des fins de recherche ou d’enseignement. «Nous projetons d’explorer les fonds marins et mettre au jour les objets fossilisés (épaves). L’Algérie qui est un pays antique recèle d’importantes richesses archéologiques», dira le responsable de la fédération. D’ailleurs, «des épaves antiques phéniciennes ont été découvertes auparavant en Algérie», ajoutera-t-il.En développant l’archéologie marine, la Fédération algérienne des sports subaquatiques veut apporter de précieux éléments d’informations liées à l’histoire ancienne de l’Algérie. «Nous pourrons contribuer à l’écriture de l’histoire antique de l’Algérie, qui est méconnue par les historiens, et ce, en fournissant des preuves matérielles, comme les épaves, le mobilier des navires, les amphores, etc.», a soutenu M. Chekroun, qui estime que les navires qui ont sombré dans les temps anciens «peuvent nous faire connaître, par exemple, la nature du commerce que l’Algérie pratiquait alors avec le reste du monde». Cela est en effet possible grâce à l’étude de l’iconographie des épaves. «Nos plongeurs, en explorant les fonds marins, ont trouvé parfois des pièces d’art de l’époque romaine, des pièces de monnaie, de marbre... qui peuvent donner une idée sur le commerce d’alors», a-t-il ajouté. Les activités à vocation scientifiques, au sein de la Fédération algérienne des sports aquatiques et subaquatiques, prennent de plus en plus d’ampleur et vont être soutenues prochainement par d’autres disciplines non moins importantes, comme la photo, la vidéo et le cinéma sous-marins. La Fassas projette d’ailleurs d’organiser dans un proche avenir un festival international de l’image sous-marine en Algérie.La fédération travaille aussi à l’élargissement de sa sphère d’activité aux régions du sud du pays, avec la création de ligues locales qui organiseront leurs activités dans les cours d’eau, barrages, etc.). Au plan international, le président de la Fassas œuvre à réunir les conditions nécessaires pour dynamiser la Confédération maghrébine des activités subaquatiques. L’année 2011 serait également propice pour relancer le projet de création d’une confédération méditerranéenne.
___________________
References:

Algeria Press Service. 2011. "L'archéologie marine a le vent en poupe". La Tribune. Posted: January 15, 2011. Available online: http://www.latribune-online.com/culture/45808.html

Undersea Cave Yields One of Oldest Skeletons in Americas

Ritually placed in once dry cavern, Mexico skeleton offers clues to first Americans.

Apparently laid to rest more than 10,000 years ago in a fiery ritual, one of the oldest skeletons in the Americas has been retrieved from an undersea cave along Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, researchers say.

Dating to a time when the now lush region was a near desert, the "Young Man of Chan Hol" may help uncover how the first Americans arrived—and who they were.

About 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Cancún, the cave system of Chan Hol—Maya for "little hole"—is like a deep gouge into the Caribbean coast.

In 2006, after entering the cave's opening, about 30 feet (10 meters) underwater, German cave divers swam more than 1,800 feet (550 meters) through dark tunnels spiked with rock formations. There they accidentally uncovered the Ice Age human's remains and notified archaeologists based in the surrounding state, Quintana Roo.

For the last three years researchers led by Arturo González, director of the Desert Museum in Saltillo, Mexico, have been studying and documenting the bones in place, so as not to lose any clues offered by context.

In late August scuba-diving researchers finally raised the bones for lab study, after having placed them in plastic bags of cave water and sealing the remains in plastic bins.

(Related: "Fossil Feces Is Earliest Evidence of North America Humans.")

And Then There Were Four

No fewer than 10,000 years ago, Chan Hol filled with seawater as Ice Age ice caps melted, the researchers say.

No human, they conclude, could have ended up so far back in the cave system after that point—which is why they believe the young man is at least 10,000 years old. The exact age of the bones should be determined by ongoing carbon-dating tests, which should be completed in three to four months, Gonzalez said.

The newly raised skeleton is the fourth to be found in underwater caves around the town of Tulum (map). One of the other skeletons—named the Woman of Naharon, or Eve of Naharon—is thought to be even more ancient, around 12,000 years old.

At about 60 percent complete, the Young Man of Chan Hol skeleton is remarkably whole for a 10,000-year-old specimen, the researchers say. Especially revealing are his teeth—lack of wear tipped off the team to the individual's relatively young age at death.

For now, the bones have been sealed in a special chamber for the next six months to a year to dry out and to allow time for their minerals to harden, making the remains less fragile. Afterward, the bones will be scanned to create 3-D computer models that can be compared with the bones of other ancient Native American remains, project leader Gonzalez said.

American Originals

The skeletons found in the Quintana Roo caves could force scientists to rethink their ideas about the initial population of the Americas, Gonzalez said.

For example, the skulls of both the Young Man of Chan Hol and the Woman of Naharon have anatomical features that suggest their owners were descended from people of South Asia and Indonesia—not from northern Asia, like North America's other known early migrants.

The discovery supports the idea that multiple groups of migrants may have entered North America via the Bering Strait—using the now submerged land bridge that once connected what are now Siberia and Alaska—at different times in history, Gonzalez said.

A Different Yucatán

Today, the Yucatán Peninsula is covered by rain forests, but when the Young Man of Chan Hol lived, it was a semiarid savannah, said Wolfgang Stinnesbeck, a geologist at Heidelberg University in Germany, who was not involved in the research.

"The Yucatán surface was dry, and there were no rivers or lakes on the surface," Stinnesbeck said in an email.

Finding water and shade would have been a problem, and as a result humans may have found refuge and drinking water in subterranean caves, he added.

The caves may have also served a spiritual purpose, project leader Gonzales said.

The skeleton, he noted, was found in an unusual position—on its side, with legs bent and arms held straight along the sides of the body—suggesting the man had been purposely placed in the cave, perhaps as part of a funeral process.

"At the moment we do not know the cause of death, but considering the articulated position in which we found him, we think he was placed at this location," Gonzalez said.

The team also found evidence of bonfires inside the cavern, which could suggest that illuminating the cave was a part of the funeral ceremony, he added.

The cavern where the body was found may have been chosen as the young man's final resting place due to its rich trove of stalactites and stalagmites—rocky cones that hang from the ceiling and thrust up from the ground, respectively.

"Next to his head are a group of stalagmites that could have evoked a special resting place," Gonzalez said, "or perhaps the place to begin a journey after death."
__________________
References:

Than, Ker. 2010. "Undersea Cave Yields One of Oldest Skeletons in Americas ". National Geographic Daily News. Posted: September 14, 2010. Available online: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/09/100915-oldest-skeleton-underwater-cave-science/

Mapping of 'Titanic' wreck begins

A high-tech expedition that aims to create a detailed map of the wreckage of the Titanic has begun exploring the ocean floor where the ship sank nearly one hundred years ago, the crew said Thursday.

The bow of the RMS Titanic lies on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. A high-tech expedition that aims to create a detailed map of the wreckage of the Titanic has begun exploring the ocean floor where the ship sank nearly one hundred years ago, the crew said Thursday.

Sonar onboard an automated submersible vehicle combined with high-resolution video will be used to create three dimensional images of the fabled oceanliner.

The expedition, organized by the American group RMS Titanic, which holds exploration rights for the wreck, arrived on Wednesday aboard the scientific vessel Jean Charcot and started by laying flowers on the water's surface to commemorate the 1,500 victims of the shipwreck.

Transponders were then deployed at the bottom of the Atlantic to determine, with the help of sonar pings from an automated underwater vehicle (AUV), the exact position of the Titanic.

Finally, the AUV "Mary Ann" was deployed at 0647 GMT. She reached the bottom after diving for an hour and 40 minutes.

"Surveying of the Titanic wreck site has begun," said the expedition on its website.

Another robotic submersible equipped with a video camera will be deployed next.

Christopher Davino, president of RMS Titanic, said in a statement that the goal is to "create the most detailed portrait of Titanic's wreck site to date."

The team of experts, he said, "will be using some of the most advanced technology available to create a portrait of the ship unlike any that has been created before -- virtually raising Titanic and sealing her current state forever in the minds and hearts of humanity."

The mission, which set sail from St John's, Newfoundland, will provide real-time video and photo updates on Facebook and Twitter during a more than 20-day expedition.

Other images and information will be found on the mission's website, www.expeditiontitanic.com.

The Titanic, a luxury passenger ship once thought to be unsinkable, hit an iceberg on April 14, 1912 and sank in the early morning of April 15, 1912, killing 1,500 people.

After decades of searching, the wreckage of the Titanic was discovered in 1985 some four kilometers (2.5 miles) beneath the surface of the sea.

I recommend going to the website. It is well animated and full of great tidbits of information.
__________________
References:

Physorg. 2010. "Mapping of 'Titanic' wreck begins". PhysOrg. Posted: August 27, 2010. Available online: http://www.physorg.com/news202104386.html

Experts set to unravel puzzle of a Chinese ship that sank near Lamu

The long-awaited work to unravel the history of a Chinese vessel that sank in Kenyan waters more than 600 years ago is set to begin with the arrival of Chinese archaeologists.

The national museums of China and Kenya have organised a joint archaeological dig on and around Lamu islands, where one of Chinese navigator Zheng He’s ships is believed to have sunk in the 15th Century.

National Museums of Kenya assistant director in charge of Coast region Athman Hussein said archaeologists from the two countries expected to get the wrecks of the fleet of the legendary Zheng.

He said the experts would conduct both terrestrial and underwater archaeology and use the data to try and understand the weather patterns which could have led to the mishap.

There are strong linkages

“Under-water archaeology is a complex venture that requires massive logistical arrangements and the team will be looking at the type of equipment and personnel that will be employed for the work.

“The three-year project, funded by China’s Ministry of Commerce, will explore Kenya’s coasts around Malindi Town and the Lamu Archipelago, where there are still strong linkages with Chinese history,” said Mr Hussein.

He said the work would include examination of the many forms of Chinese porcelain that had been unearthed.

“Archaeologists from the two countries will be working for two months every year for the stipulated number of years starting this year.”

The NMK official said the Chinese team would be headed by Mr Zhang Wei, vice-president of the National Museums of China and Mr Zhao Jiabin, the director of underwater archaeology of that country.

Some of the activities leading to the excavation include the training of some Kenyans in underwater archaeology, a complex field that Kenya did not have experts in in the past.

The Lamu Island is one of the key points Zheng’s fleet is believed to have passed through before capsizing in 1415.

Since 2005, the Chinese Government has been dispatching teams of experts to the island after records confirmed the exact location of the capsized legendary Chinese ship, which has been lying on the ocean floor for years.

Chinese archaeologists believe the project will shed new light on China’s trading history.

Zheng commanded the Ming dynasty’s merchant fleet of hundreds of ships to Kenya twice in the 15th Century.

Married local girls

Many people believe one of his ships sank around the Lamu Archipelago. The sailors then stayed on the archipelago, married locals and taught them farming and fishing.

Archaeological excavations have also proved the existence of Chinese descendants on the archipelago.

As a result of the Chinese connection with Lamu and specifically Siyu on Patte Island, there has been a lot of movement over the years by Chinese historians and tourists to learn more about the 15th Century history.

One of the beneficiaries of the close linkages is Mwamaka Sheriff, a young woman who is currently studying Chinese medicine at Nanjing University on a scholarship from the Chinese Government.

See also: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/25/kenya-china.
___________________
References:

Ndury, Amazera. 2010. "Experts set to unravel puzzle of a Chinese ship that sank near Lamu". Daily Nation. Posted: July 27, 2010. Available online: http://www.nation.co.ke/News/regional/-/1070/965156/-/9a6t5r/-/

Lake Laberge gives up a secret

Wreck of fabled sternwheeler from Klondike gold rush era found in 'pristine condition';

A team of marine archeologists has discovered a "perfectly preserved" 19th-century sternwheeler that went down in a storm more than a century ago in the Klondike setting made famous by the Robert Service poem The Cremation of Sam McGee.

The A.J. Goddard, a long-lost shipwreck in the depths of Yukon's legendary Lake Laberge, is being hailed as a "national treasure" and a "time capsule" from the Klondike.

The ship was named for an intrepid U.S. shipping merchant who pioneered Yukon River transport during the wild race for Canadian gold in the 1890s.

In Service's ghoulish 1907 rhyme, a Tennessee gold-seeker's frozen corpse finds blissful relief from the fatal Yukon cold in the fiery boiler of a sternwheeler stranded in ice on Lake Laberge.

The lake, a widening of the Yukon River north of Whitehorse, was a key leg in the treacherous, five-day journey by steamboat for tens of thousands of "stampeders," who came from across the U.S., Canada and elsewhere to search for gold in the Yukon's Klondike region in the late 1890s and early 1900s.

Most of the miners trudged from Skagway, Alaska--which could be reached by Pacific steamers--across dangerous mountain passes to the Yukon River headwaters in northern British Columbia.

Goddard took the same arduous route with the materials used to build his sternwheeler, was assembled on the shores of B.C.'s Lake Bennett and in June 1898 became the first steamboat to reach Dawson, which at the time was only a tent city filled with fortune hunters.

Goddard's historic arrival at Dawson in his self-named boat--to the thunderous cheers of miners -- has become part of Klondike lore, recounted by author Pierre Berton and other Gold Rush chroniclers.

The steamer sank in October 1901, drowning three of the five crewmen on board at the time.

Doug Davidge, president of the Yukon Transportation Museum, and B.C. archeologist John Pollack, a research associate with the Texasbased, international Institute of Nautical Archaeology, had led several searches for Klondike-era wrecks before discovering the sternwheeler in 2008 and positively identifying the 15-metre wreck this year.

"She is, indeed, a Gold Rush time capsule," said INA president James Delgado, former director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum.

"The boiler door is hanging open with the firewood they'd thrown in," he said.

"There are bags of tools and somebody's coat lying there on the deck, and the boots that the engineer probably kicked off as he was drowning lie close to his station."

In a statement announcing the find, the researchers also describe how a trapper camping on the shore of Lake Laberge in 1901 "saw Goddard's tiny pilothouse, torn off the sinking steamboat, with two survivors, half frozen, clinging to it. He saved them . . . Diving on A.J. Goddard, it is as if these events happened yesterday."

They also said "an axe used to chop the tow line for a small barge loaded with supplies still rests on the deck where a crew member dropped it."

The discovery, backed by funding from INA, National Geographic, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, the Yukon government and others, is to be followed next summer with further dives documenting the wreck site and its debris field.

"As this discovery now shows," the team notes, the steamboat also operated as a small floating repair shop, forge and kitchen--a self-sufficient depot on the Gold Rush frontier."

For additional stories see:
Los Angeles Times.
National Geographic News. This site has beautiful pictures and a video.
CBC News.

______________________
References:

Boswell, Randy. 2009. "Lake Laberge gives up a secret". Edmonton Journal. Posted: November 24, 2009. Available online: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/technology/Lake+Laberge+gives+secret/2259550/story.html

Sea gives up secrets to experts

With shafts of sunlight shimmering through a few metres of crystal clear water, you can pick out the cornerstones of an ancient civilisation which inspired literature and legend.

There is more than a whiff of Atlantis about the story of Pavlopetri - the world's oldest submerged town.

But the Bronze Age site, off the coast of Laconia in Greece, has its roots in fact not fiction.

New underwater archaeology techniques - with sonar mapping used by the military and off-shore oil industry - are giving up new secrets.

An international team, given special permission to dive by the Greek government, has found artefacts on the sea bed dating back 5,000 years.

This fresh information puts the world's oldest submerged town well over a millennium older than previously thought.

“The new ceramic finds form a complete and exceptional corpus of pottery” Dr Chrysanthi Gallou

Dr Jon Henderson led a team from the University of Nottingham and said the expedition surpassed all expectations.

"This site is unique in that we have almost the complete town plan, the main streets and domestic buildings, courtyards, rock-cut tombs and what appear to be religious buildings, clearly visible on the seabed.

"Equally as a harbour settlement, the study of the archaeological material we have recovered will be extremely important in terms of revealing how maritime trade was conducted and managed in the Bronze Age."

One of the most important discoveries has been what is believed to be a large rectangular great hall, known as a "Megaron", from the early Bronze Age period.

'Rare find'

They have also found more than 9,000sq m of new buildings, including a pillar crypt, which could be the first example ever discovered on the Greek mainland.

The Hellenic Ministry of Culture's Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities is overseeing the work.

Official Elias Spondylis said: "It is a rare find and it is significant because, as a submerged site, it was never re-occupied and therefore represents a frozen moment of the past.

The team had a warm reception from local people, who were excited about the project and sense an important part of Greek history and culture would soon be returned to them.

The Mayor of Neopolis, Pavlopetri's nearest neighbour, Jannis Kousoulis, has become one the dive team's most enthusiastic supporters. He hoped the new work will raise the whole region's profile as a place for culture and tourism.

Archaeological co-ordinator for the Pavlopetri project is Dr Chrysanthi Gallou, a post-doctoral research fellow at The University of Nottingham and an expert in Aegean Prehistory.

“The investigation offers a great opportunity for [the local community] to be actively involved in the preservation and management of the site” Dr Chrysanthi Gallou

Dr Gallou said: "The new ceramic finds form a complete and exceptional corpus of pottery covering all sub-phases from the Final Neolithic period (mid 4th millennium BC) to the end of the Late Bronze Age (1100 BC).

"In addition, the interest from the local community in Laconia has been fantastic.

"The investigation at Pavlopetri offers a great opportunity for them to be actively involved in the preservation and management of the site, and subsequently for the cultural and touristic development of the wider region."

The team has also been joined by Dr Nicholas Flemming, a marine geo-archaeologist from the Institute of Oceanography at the University of Southampton.

He discovered the site in 1967 and returned the following year with a team from Cambridge University to carry out the first ever survey of the submerged town.

Using just snorkels and tape measures they produced a detailed plan of the prehistoric town which consisted of at least 15 separate buildings, courtyards, streets, two chamber tombs and at least 37 graves. Despite the potential international importance of Pavlopetri no further work was carried out at the site until this year.

The Pavlopetri Underwater Archaeology Project 2009 is at the start of a five-year study of the site which aims to define the history and development of Pavlopetri.

Four more fieldwork seasons are planned before their research is published in full in 2014.

See also EurekAlert, and Science Daily for more information.
________________________
References:

Bartram, Anthony. 2009. "Sea gives up secrets to experts" BBC News. Posted: October 16, 2009. Available online:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/nottinghamshire/8311246.stm

Debate unfolds over origin of grouped stones at lake's bottom

26/09/09 8:16 PM Debate unfolds over origin of grouped stones at lake's bottom

February 15th, 2009 in Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Forty feet below the surface of Lake Michigan in Grand Traverse Bay, a mysterious pattern of
stones can be seen rising from an otherwise sandy half-mile of lake floor.

Likely the stones are a natural feature. But the possibility they are not has piqued the interest of archeologists, native tribes and state officials since underwater archeologist Mark Holley found the site in 2007 during a survey of the lake bottom.

The site recently has become something of an Internet sensation, thanks to a blogger who noticed an archeological paper on the topic and described the stones as "underwater Stonehenge."

Though the stones could signal an ancient shoreline or a glacial formation, their striking geometric alignment raises the possibility of human involvement. The submerged site was tundra when humans of the hunter-gatherer era roamed it 6,000 to 9,000 years ago. Could the stones have come from a massive fishing weir laid across a long-gone river? Could they mark a ceremonial site?

Adding to the intrigue, one dishwasher-size rock seems to bear an etching of a mastodon. "The first thing I said when I came out of the water was, 'Oh no, I wish we wouldn't have found this,'" said Holley, whose usual prey is sunken boats. "This is going to invite so much controversy that this is where we're going to be for the next 20 years."

This spring Holley and a student from Northwestern Michigan College hope to make laser scans of the image that will yield a computer model. That will help scientists assess the site, which is otherwise off-limits because of American Indian concerns that the area could be sacred.

Researchers who study early American Indians say they will need more evidence to be convinced the stones are a human artifact. They are especially wary of the idea of a mastodon petroglyph. Mastodons were facing extinction when early humans were on the scene, and the few that still existed in North America lived much farther south, evidence shows.

"It would be the only visual representation of such in the whole hemisphere," said a skeptical Charles Cleland, retired curator of Great Lakes archeology and ethnology at Michigan State University. "It would be a really spectacular find - if it turns out to be true."

Still, Hank Bailey of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians said, "There's a lot that we haven't learned." Moreover, to American Indian eyes, the rocks seem to be arranged with some purpose, he said.

"It could easily be a ceremonial site," said Bailey, who gave underwater photographs of the stones to religious leaders. "The same kind of thing that I see there is the same kind of things we use, so why couldn't it have been connected to our people further back than modern archeologists know?"

Evidence shows human families were present in northern Michigan thousands of years ago. They
traversed a barren tundra dotted by stands of fir trees in pursuit of elk and woodland caribou, gathering nuts and berries as they passed.

People did not linger in such a cold, marginal land, but they did mine chert for spear points from a site near Charlevoix, Mich., and left evidence of campsites in the area, Cleland said.

Humans of that time frequently arranged stones to dam streams - to trap fish and for other reasons, said Northwestern University archeologist James Brown.

"Until they're investigated archeologically, it's hard to tell," Brown said of the submerged formation. Holley found the site by accident while doing lake floor survey work in summer 2007 for the Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve. After several passes, a row of stones became clear. When divers visited the site to take photographs, they were left vaguely unnerved. "It was really spooky when we saw it in the water," Holley said. "The whole site is spooky, in a way. When you're swimming through a long line of stones and the rest of the lake bed is featureless, it's just spooky."

To satisfy Grand Traverse Bay's American Indian community, which wants to minimize the number of visitors to the site, and to preserve his prerogative to research the spot, Holley has kept its exact location a secret.

He said he hopes a computer model of the gouges in the mastodon rock will help experts tell whether the features were a trick of chance cut by glacial forces or were the work of ancient humans. Cleland said petroglyphs are rare in the Upper Midwest and stone circles are more common among primitive farmers than among the hunter-gatherers who traveled through Michigan.

"But I think this is certainly something that needs to be investigated," Cleland said. "It would be unthinkable to leave it alone and not try to figure it out."
___
References:

Anonymous. 2009. "Debate unfolds over origin of grouped stones at lake's bottom". PhysOrg.com. Posted: September 26, 2009. Available online: http://www.physorg.com/153932267.html

This story is based on the article in the Chicago Tribune.