12 Great Underwater Discoveries

[Stingray]

Submerged Sites
"12 Great Underwater Discoveries"

Underwater archaeology isn't just about shipwrecks; some of the most spectacular finds have been ancient villages, cemeteries, and even entire cities



Archaeologist Latvis Simpson recovers a mastadon tusk from Florida's Aucilla River. (Courtesy Andy Hemmings)
Aucilla River

In 1995, a team led by archaeologists from the Florida Museum of Natural History University of Florida began excavating several submerged Paleoindian sites along the Aucilla River in northwest Florida. Since then, the team has discovered more than 75 sites. Water was scarce in the arid savannah-like climate of the Pleistocene and the river was the epicenter of life for animals and humans. Archaeologists uncovered flint and chert tools, hearths, animal bones, and several human graves, providing the clearest picture so far of the lives of early Americans. Three wooden stakes preserved upright in the ground suggest they lived in temporary lean-tos or tents. Just as significant as the evidence of human life are the layers of faunal and animal remains preserved in the river by flooding, allowing biologists to understand the evolution of species during the dramatic climate shift at the end of the Pleistocene era.

[Stingray]

Windover Pond

Farther south, near Titusville, Florida, an Early Archaic site was discovered when a backhoe operator noticed skeletal remains while starting excavation for a road across Windover Pond. The worker had inadvertently discovered a graveyard of more than 167 people, with burials from 6,900 to 8,100 years old preserved in peat. Archaeologists from Florida State University found that many of the bodies were wrapped in fabric made from plant fibers, the oldest flexible fabric ever found in the New World. The intricate weaves indicate they were woven on a loom, suggesting people at this period were more sedentary than previously believed. Carved artifacts of wood, bone, and antler were also preserved in the graves, along with brain tissue from 91 skulls.

[Stingray]

Florida's Windover Pond preserved an astonishing array of artifacts from the Early Archaic period. (Courtesy Glenn Doran)

[Stingray]

Atlit-Yam

Dating to as early as 6900 B.C., Atlit-Yam is a pre-pottery Neolithic settlement covering more than 15 acres of the seafloor just off Israeli coast, some six miles south of Haifa. Working at a depth of 26 to 40 feet, archaeologists led by the Israeli Antiquities Authority discovered the remains of rectangular houses and several pits, most likely used as wells. A six-foot thick wall running parallel to the channel of an ancient river was probably a levee, indicating increased control over and exploitation of water systems in the Neolithic. A set of seven upright stones discovered around what used to be a freshwater spring may also indicate worship of water sources. Perhaps most importantly, Atlit-Yam has in situ burials, with 15 full skeletons, some showing evidence of tuberculosis (see "Dark History of the White Death," September/October 2009). Most remains were found either in or near to a dwelling, which may indicate the people practiced some form of ancestor worship. Early evidence of religion, domestication, and fishing make Atlit-Yam a key site in understanding the transition in the Neolithic period toward more complex systems of subsistence.

[Stingray]

An aerial view of waters just off the Israeli coast where a Neolithic village thrived more than 8,000 years ago. (Wikicommons/Digital Media Center of the University of Haifa)

[Stingray]

Port Royal

Perhaps best known for legends of its plundering pirates and privateers, Port Royal, Jamaica, is the most important site for our understanding of city planning, architecture, and daily life of a 17th- century Caribbean colony. Captured from the Spanish in 1655, Port Royal became the largest and most prosperous English center in the Caribbean, its central location making it integral in the trade of slaves, sugar, and raw materials. But on the morning of June 7, 1692, the port's prosperity came to an end when an earthquake shook the island, causing more than 66 percent of the town to subside into the ocean. Buildings near the harbor collapsed and became jumbled as they sank, but structures farther away sank vertically, staying largely intact and preserving artifacts and remains inside. This area became the focus of excavations lead by the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, Texas A&M University, and the Jamaica National Heritage Trust from 1981 to 1990. Concentrating dives on the commercial center of town, archaeologists fully excavated eight buildings, uncovering many household items, including large amounts of Chinese and local porcelain and pottery. The excavations of Port Royal provide an unparalleled view of the architectural styles, crafts, and activities of daily life in a burgeoning 17th-century colony.

[Stingray]

Archaeologist Peggy Leshikar investigates the wood framing of a stairwell set into the brick floor of a building in Port Royal that was subdivided into a tavern, pipe shop, and cobbler's shop. (Courtesy Donny L. Hamilton)

[Stingray]

 Bronze Age Shipwrecks
"12 Great Underwater Discoveries"

The most exciting discoveries ever made in the Mediterranean were two vessels that gave archaeologists a complete picture of how mariners plied the seas during the Bronze Age.

Cape Gelidonya

The excavation of a Late Bronze Age (LBA) cargo vessel off southern Turkey's Cape Gelidonya in 1960 was the world's first scientific underwater dig. Led by pioneering underwater archaeologist George Bass, a team of young divers discovered a rich cargo that contained primarily copper and tin ingots, as well as the personal possessions of the crew, which showed they came from Egypt, Cyprus, and Syria. Based on comparing evidence from Egyptian art, Syrian port excavations, and the artifacts of the vessel, the archaeologists concluded the ship was early Phoenician. At the time of the discovery, scholars believed the Myceneans dominated the LBA nautical trade, and that the Phoenicians were not present on the seas until the Iron Age. The Cape Gelidonya wreck forced archaeologists to reconsider the history of nautical commerce in the LBA Mediterranean.

[Stingray]

Archaeologists George Bass (left) and Peter Throckmorton examine wooden hull fragments from the Cape Gelidonya shipwreck. (Courtesy of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology)

[Stingray]

Uluburun

Some 40 miles west of Cape Gelidonya, an even more spectacular discovery was made: the wreck of a cargo ship at Uluburun, which proved to be the richest and largest collection of LBA artifacts ever found in the Mediterranean. The ship's cargo included ebony logs, hippo tusk ivory, thousands of amber and quartz beads, lavender-colored glass, a carved bronze and gold protective goddess figure, and copper and tin ingots. Dated to ca. 1306 B.C. on dendrochronological evidence, the vessel was carrying a variety of Egyptian, Cannanite, Cypriot, and Mycenean materials, both raw and manufactured, and probably set off from Cyprus. The wreck, excavated between 1984 and 1994 by archaeologist Cemal Pulak and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, provides the earliest examples of several types of artifacts, including the wooden writing boards, joined by ivory hinges and recessed to hold wax writing surfaces.

[Stingray]

Archaeologist Murat Tilev excavates a row of copper "oxhide" ingots found in situ at the Uluburun site. (Courtesy of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology)

[Stingray]

 Medieval Conflict at Sea
"12 Great Underwater Discoveries"

Vessels from opposite sides of the globe gave scholars an unprecedented glimpse into the tactics of naval warfare during a period when mastery of the seas became critical to the fates of nations.

[Stingray]

Roskilde

In the late 11th century, fearing naval attacks from their Norwegian enemies, the Danes decided to fortify their capital Roskilde. They sank five of their own vessels in Roskilde fjord some 12 miles north of the city near the town of Skuldelev to act as an underwater blockade. Scattered pieces of the vessels were noticed and unearthed by fishermen and divers from the 17th century onward, but in 1962 the site was drained and fully excavated by National Museum of Denmark archaeologists who named them the Skuldelev ships. Two of the boats were merchant ships made of pine and oak, carrying five to eight men and transporting items such as furs, timber, slaves, and fish. Two others were warships, one thought to be a chieftain's boat, its long narrow shape and 65 to 70 rowers allowing for great speed. The fifth Skuldelev wreck was of a hunting ship of pine, birch and oak, its high walls built to contain catches from whaling and seal hunting expeditions.
   All five ships are now displayed in the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde (vikingeskibsmuseet.dk). Experimental archaeologists have created working replicas of each ship, and in 2007 Sea Stallion, a replica of Skuldelev 2, successfully completed a voyage from Roskilde to Dublin.

[Stingray]

Skuldelev II, built in Ireland in 1042 and sunk in Roskilde fjord in the 1070s, might have carried the children of England's King Harold when they fled to Denmark after the Norman invasions. (Courtesy Casiopeia)

[Stingray]

Kubilai Khan's Fleet

In 1281, Kubilai Khan sent a fleet of 4,400 ships carrying more than 100,000 troops to subjugate Japan after a failed attempt two years earlier. Facing a seemingly indestructible enemy, the Japanese emperor prayed to the gods for relief. According to legend, the Khan's entire fleet was destroyed that night by a divine wind, the kamikaze, its ships shattered and troops drowned, foiling the Khan's plan ("Relics of the Kamikaze," January/February 2003). Excavations by archaeologist Torao Mozai in the 1980s, and contemporary digs led by Kenzo Hayashida off the island of Takashima in Imari Bay have uncovered remains from one ship, allowing archaeologists to start separating fact from legend. An incredible amount of artifacts has been recovered, including helmets, arrow tips, ceramic tetsuhau bombs, anchors, iron swords and red leather armor, and human remains including a cranium and pelvis. One of the earliest finds, recovered by a local fisherman, was a bronze seal of a commander, engraved in Chinese and Mongolian, confirming that the finds were indeed from the fleet of Kubilai Khan. Analysis of the artifacts has clarified, enhanced, and corrected the legend, leading historians to estimate the fleet consisted only of hundreds of ships, hastily constructed, and filled with primarily Chinese troops. Though altering the story, excavations in Imari bay have re-enlivened the legend of the kamikaze.