Six completely preserved ancient vessels found in the Black Sea have been rescued by employees of the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime with the assistance of specialists from the National Museum of History. The finds were handed over to the museum on October 16.
Among them are a late antique jug and five amphorae. The vessels are dated to different periods - the Roman era, late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Some of the finds are from the 5th-6th centuries, and others - from the 10th-12th centuries.
Finds from great depths
To date, no details have been published about the exact way in which the vessels were discovered. The collected data indicate that they were probably retrieved from great depths during trawling or after fishing nets came across sunken ships.
It is assumed that the ships were sailing in the open sea near ancient Dionysopolis - today's Balchik. Experts define the finds as extremely rare and of high archaeological value precisely because of the fact that they are preserved intact.
Fishing gear damages the seabed
According to the Ministry of Interior, the discovery of the amphorae emphasizes the need to develop deep-sea archaeological research and marine archaeology in Bulgarian territorial waters. The case also shows the risk to underwater cultural heritage from the use of mobile fishing gear.
According to scientific studies, about 5% of ship artifacts were damaged during the sinking itself, while over 60% were damaged by trawling. The six ancient vessels are about to be exhibited at the National History Museum.
Sources: nova.bg