 |
S E P T E M B E R 5th |
|
|
We're in a rather remote area called Kizilburun, and it is very difficult for us to establish the cellular uplink with our server, so we decided today's update a bit early, combining it with yesterday's. We spent the night at Berta's favorite beach in all of Turkey, Barbecue Beach as she calls it. It is completely isolated, the only settlement a small, stone hut where an old man lives for the summer, gathering herbs. This morning, the water was absolutely flat, no wind. The morning swim was particularly nice. | |
 |
At ten this morning, we dove to 30 meters on what is believed to be a Byzantine Wreck that was carrying a cargo of millstones. There are 31 in total. Berta thinks there are a few different sizes, but the ones that we measured were 25cm wide and 1m in diameter. Beneath the stones were 4 anchors and 3 more are found close by. Ancient ships would often carry extra ground tackle because they would often lose anchors in heavy weather. They did not have the winches that modern boats have to recover them, so rather than risk the vessel in a storm, they would leave an anchor behind. We did not see the timbers of the ship, most have probably rotted away, but there are probably some underneath the stones, preserved in the sand. | |
 |
The picture on the left (courtesy of Cornucopia magazine) was taken in the surroundings of Sapanka, a town in the Black Sea. The millstones in the picture, still in use in the area, look exactly like the ones we can see down in the Millstones wreck. | |
 |
Just above the millstones wreck, at 28 meters, lies a
mound of amphoras on a rocky slope. One of the anchors stands upside down resting on
a rock next to the amphora pile. Based on the anchor and the shape of the
amphoras, we believe this wreck is from the Byzantine period. We will have another dive this afternoon to do some more measurements on the sites. If we can establish a link tonight we'll add it to the site, but most likely we will not be able to for a couple of days. Today, Berta and I are going to take the dinghy back towards Sigacik and try to get a good connection. |
|
|
C O N T A C T U S A T v i r a z o n @ d i v e t u r k e y . c o m |
|
