Ancient stone walls, remains of residential buildings, household items that survived millennia on the seabed. These are just some of the valuable finds discovered this summer by underwater archaeologists off the coast of Nessebar. Researchers from the only Center for Underwater Archaeology in our country have been searching for artifacts in the waters of ancient Messambria for over 60 years.
Mesambria. This is how the Thracians called the settlement they built 3,200 years ago on the site of today's Nessebar, writes Nova TV. Centuries later, the peninsula became a Hellenic colony, and then was conquered by the Romans. At the beginning of the 9th century, after a siege led by Khan Krum, the city became part of the Bulgarian state.
After the sea swallowed up territories of the peninsula several times, today a huge part of ancient Nessebar is still under water. This summer, however, underwater archaeologists managed to recover new architectural evidence of the scale of the ancient city from the seabed. Fortress walls and breakwaters have been discovered, say researchers from the Center for Underwater Archaeology in Sozopol.
„We are investigating an ancient wall made of large blocks of stone. What is particularly interesting this season is that under it we found a system of wooden beams, extremely large and massive wooden beams, very well preserved from Antiquity to the present day, with which the clay terrain in this part around the peninsula was strengthened. And in addition, we found many stakes driven into the terrain around the fortress, with which this coastal terrain was further strengthened. We are about to take samples of the wooden beams and stakes to send them for radiocarbon dating and in this way we will establish when this wall was built”, explained Dr. Naiden Prahov, director of the Center for Underwater Archaeology in Sozopol.
The underwater archaeological finds are currently protected by the regimes for the protection of cultural heritage, but there are already plans to include them within the boundaries of the architectural and historical reserve of Messambria. And this fall, more in-depth studies of the sunken city will continue.
Along with the Bulgarian archaeologists, eight foreign students also participated in the research this summer. They came all the way from Canada and the USA to learn the intricacies of underwater excavations. “I chose this school in Bulgaria because here underwater different periods of ancient history can be studied simultaneously. To be part of such discoveries – "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," says Connor.
"They all prepare reports on their work within this school to their universities and institutes, thus presenting Bulgaria's underwater cultural heritage to a very wide international audience," explained Dr. Prahov.
After the mandatory briefing on land, the archaeological missions on the seabed require excellent scuba diving skills. The training also includes precise searching with equipment, identification and careful storage of all artifacts found during the training process. An accurate inventory of the finds is also important, as is mapping the entire water area, so that underwater archaeologists do not miss a single valuable discovery in the sunken port.
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