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Black Sea '01 Expedition
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Intro to the Black Sea The Flood Theory The Flood Theory (pt 2) The Shipwreck Museum Past Expeditions The 2001 Expedition
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SUMMARY In August of 2001, the latest edition of the University of Pennsylvania's Black Sea Trade Project (BSTP) took place, this time scouring the dark waters off Bulgaria and Romania in search of shipwrecks and submerged habitations. The preeminent archaeologist Fred Hiebert started the BSTP in 1996 to study trade routes and ancient cultures in the Black Sea region. By 2000, the endevaour had made headlines around the world and yielded some of the most exciting discoveries in the history of underwater archaeology. Following on this success, the American Institute for Exploration and the Bulgarian Institute of Oceanology launched a joint expedition to an unstudied region of the Black Sea. Methodically probing the darkness and poison with sonar and geological sampling, the scientists searched for evidence of more mysterious archaeological remains on the seafloor. The main result of the 2001 expedition was a sonic roadmap of likely targets for sunken (and drowned) archaeology in the Black Sea. Explicitly using this roadmap, scientists over the next few years will send robots and submersibles into the darkness to tease out the remains of submerged human habitations and the most well-preserved ancient shipwrecks in the entire world. My name is Chad Parmet and I had the great fortune of being able to participate in this amazing expedition. As an undergraduate at Penn I took Fred Hiebert's course in Underwater Archaeolgy. The following summer, this incredible professor gave me the chance of a lifetime to represent him on a boat halfway across the world. Needless to say, it was the greatest experience of my life. There is a rich scientific and historical background to the cruise and this overview section will cover a heavy amount of it. You can also jump to more personal scenes from the experience using the menu at the top of the page, where you can meet the team, read some impressions in the journal, view some photos, and bounce to some further resources. CONTENTS Introduction to the Black Sea There is nothing like the Black Sea anywhere in the world. It is a dark sea of poison and obscurity, and its waters conceal a mysterious past. The Flood Theory A new theory claims that the Black Sea used to be a freshwater lake -- until the Mediterranean kicked in the door with 200 times the force of Niagra Falls. The Flood Theory (Part 2): Misconceptions There are a lot of wrong ideas about Ryan & Pitman's Flood Theory floating around, especially concerning perceived religious implications. The Shipwreck Museum The bizarre chemistry of the Black Sea has actually been preserving the ships that have succumbed to it since the dawn of civilization. Past Expeditions to the Black Sea In the last few years, the Black Sea region has been scurrying with archaeological expeditions, including one that made headlines around the world. |
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Skip ahead to the final results of the '01 expedition |
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The 2001 Expedition The most recent trip to the Black Sea focused on an uninvestigated region with great promise of sunken remains from the ancient world. |
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Site by Chad Parmet: chadparmet@comcast.net | home.comcast.net/~chadparmet  
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