Found, a ship that sailed Homer’s seas

400BC vessel is oldest intact wreck in world

WITH a mast, rudder and most of its frame in place, this ancient Greek trading ship looks like it has only just slipped beneath the wine-dark sea.

believed to be the world’s oldest intact shipwreck, the discovery of the 2,400-yearold vessel was made 1.3miles down in the black Sea.

At that depth, the lack of oxygen has almost perfectly preserved the 75ft timber ship, giving academics a treasure trove of insights into life in 400bc.

even the wooden rowing benches where oars were worked to power it across the sea are still intact, along with coils of rope stored by sailors in the stern and the leftovers of their final meal of monkfish. Professor Jon Adams of the University of Southampton, principal investigator of the black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project, said: ‘A ship, surviving intact, from the classical world, lying in over 2km of water, is something I would never have believed possible.

‘This will change our understanding of shipbuilding and seafaring in the ancient world.’

The ship was found 50 miles off the coast of bulgaria and carbon dated to around 400bc.

It closely resembles the vessel depicted in the famous Siren Vase, now at the british Museum, which is around the same age. It portrays Odysseus, the hero of Homer’s epic The Odyssey, lashed to its mast so he could not be overcome by the hypnotic songs of the sirens – mythical half-women, half-birds who were reputed to lure sailors to their deaths.

A team of researchers from britain and bulgaria found the skeleton of the Greek trading vessel during a survey of 770 square miles of seabed.

dr Kroum batchvarov, who worked on the project, said: ‘We have a complete vessel, with the masts still standing, with the quarter rudders in place. It is an incredible find. The first of its kind. This is unique.’

The ship is just one of many found in the depths that had sailed during ancient times.

The marine archaeologists spent three years combing the seabed using remote-controlled cameras that provide ultra highdefinition images from more than 1.2miles below the surface.

The exploration, which has cost around £15million and is funded by the Julia and Hans rausing Trust, unearthed more than 60 shipwrecks in total, including roman trading ships and a 17th century cossack raiding fleet.

The second- oldest vessels found date back to 200Ad. It also revealed a bronze Age settlement, which is now submerged below the seabed.