HOT NEWS !

From Scilly Today

There’s been a development with a wreck discovered in the Tresco Channel.

English Heritage has confirmed that Dave McBride’s find is, ‘highly significant’ and they’ll now investigate whether the site needs legal protection.

Alison James, maritime archaeologist for English Heritage, believes it could be one of the earliest wreck sites around the British Isles.

Dave found the pottery while diving on a commercial job in the Tresco Channel and around 400 pieces have now been recovered.

Expert John Allen from Exeter University was working at the Isles of Scilly museum and identified the pieces as French Saintonge pottery dating from 1250-1350.

It suggests trade between the Bordeaux region and Tresco’s monks at the St Nicholas Priory.

Most islanders would have been too poor to import the wine. It’s thought it could be from a ship that went missing in 1305 and, if confirmed a wreck, then it will be only one from this era in the whole country, but Dave still feels it is too early to say.

Marine archaeologist Kevin Camidge says all the pottery had come from one very tight area, which suggests a wreck, as does the discovery of animal bones, indicating there were animals onboard.

Kevin will return in October to see what shows up.

From The Local

Divers off the coast of Birka, an ancient Viking village near Stockholm, have uncovered 100 metre long jetties suggesting a coastal marketplace that was not previously imagined.

The team found that jetties stretching off the coast of the Björkö island were actually significantly longer than they initially believed, and could provide valuable information about the Vikings and their habits.

Andreas Olsson, a marine archaeologist who is heading the international team, was amazed by the find.

“We have found stone piers in deep water and these were rare for this age.

Timber, logs and poles as well. Previously, it was not thought that the Vikings could build stone piers at a depth of eight meters,” he told the Dagens Nyheter newspaper (DN), adding that the team is in the process of figuring out how the port might have looked from this information.

The marine archaeologists, who have now estimated that the village was 30 percent bigger than previously imagined, also believe that a marketplace may have been based in the waters of the harbour.

Olsson explained that the jetties, which are five times longer than previously believed, were likely connected with the Vikings extensive trade system, and could indicate that the area was indeed a bustling village.

"The remains of the port structures show that it was actually a port, not just small jetties jutting out onto the beach as previously thought," he said.

"Everyone has ideas about the Viking age. Many of these emphasize the wild, warlike nature of the people, but what we're working on will distinguish the picture.

This is great, not least because that age is ever-present in popular culture,” Olsson told the paper.

The village of Birka, which is often considered to be Sweden's oldest town, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993.

From Hydro International 

In early July 2012, on the 75th anniversary of the disappearance of Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan, members of Phoenix International Holdings, USA, set sail from Hawaii in support of a search effort led by The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR).

The target of the search was Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10E aircraft.

After years of research, TIGHAR theorised that the plane went down near the island of Nikumaroro, an atoll roughly 1,900 miles southwest of Hawaii.

Phoenix’s role was to search one square mile of the seabed from 50 to 4,000 feet off the northwest side of the island.

To conduct the underwater search, Phoenix deployed its new BlueFin-21 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and a leased Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) from Submersible Systems.

The underwater search team consisted of five Phoenix AUV operators / ROV technicians, two BlueFin AUV technicians, and two SSI ROV technicians.

After a nine-day transit aboard the research vessel Ka`imikai-o-Kanaloa (K-O-K), the team arrived at Nikumaroro and commenced undersea search operations.

Full story...

From Famagusta Gazette

Robert Ballard, the man whose name is associated with the discovery of the sunken ocean liner the Titanic, is in Cyprus on a special expedition on board the US research vessel “Nautilus” to investigate “Eratosthenes” mountain, at the bottom of the sea, 60 miles off Cyprus’ western coast.

In an interview with CNA, he talks about his career, how technology has changed the way he operates and points out that in his view his greatest discovery is the hydrothermal conduits and not the wreck of the Titanic, or that of the German battleship Bismarck, which sunk in World War II or even the discovery of the passenger liner Lusitania, sunk by a German torpedo during World War I.

To date, Robert Ballard has conducted more than 120 undersea expeditions, pioneering the use of the latest in submarine technology to plunge ever deeper into the mysteries of the ocean.

“There is a lot more to learn underwater than above water,” he tells CNA and referred to the new life forms created by hydrothermal conduits as a living system which nobody knew it even existed.

On his Cyprus mission, he said he is on this expedition, accompanying his son and many other students, teachers and educators.

He explained that they communicate with schools, museums and aquariums, broadcasting images via specialized equipment.

“We have these consoles, control panels, many of them are on land. I have one just like this in my office and a second one in my other office on Rhode island, so in fact I don’t really need to be here,” he said.

Replying to another question about his mission, the 70 year old oceanographer acknowledged that he does not know what the Cyprus expedition will unveil.

He also explained that because they expect the unexpected, they gather experts in various fields, some on board the ship, others waiting to be called.

“We call them ‘doctors on call’. We have scientists all over the world who may get a phone call when we make a discovery,” he added.

Robert Ballard is not new to the island of Cyprus, he visited two years ago, exploring an area where there was a huge mountain, "Eratosthenes", 60 miles from the coast of Paphos.

Full story...

From My Fox8

In the late 1980s, Tommy Thompson was the hunter, searching for and retrieving millions of dollars in gold bars and coins from a ship that sank in a hurricane off the North Carolina coast.

Now, he’s the hunted, the subject of an arrest warrant for failing to appear in court in Ohio in one of the lengthy legal fights that followed the discovery.

A federal judge in Ohio ordered the warrant for Thompson this week after he failed to appear in court in a case that has gone on for more than six years.

U.S. Marshals said they’re following tips from the public in hopes of locating Thompson, who is believed to have a home in eastern Florida.

The situation stems from a lawsuit by seamen who claimed they’re entitled to about 2 percent of sale proceeds from the treasure found in the S.S. Central America, which went down in 1857 and Thompson and his crew found.

The gold was sold for a total of more than $50 million, leaving about $30 million after the cost of the recovery efforts, and the seamen believe they’re owed a portion of that in addition to what they were paid for their work, said Michael Roy Szolosi, an attorney for them.

The plaintiffs asked the court to block the transfer or sale of 500 restrike gold coins, and the court did so temporarily. It also ordered Thompson to disclose the whereabouts of those coins and money from a trust.

The coins, made from some of the found gold, were part of deal in 2000 to sell rights to the remaining treasure to the California Gold Marketing Group, and the plaintiffs believe Thompson later took the coins.

They’ve sought information about what happened to the coins as they tried to assess Thompson’s assets.

“It’s important to our clients that those questions be answered, and apparently the only way that they’re going to get answered is to have him in court under the contempt sanctions,” Szolosi said.

He estimated the coins are worth $2 million based on the amount of gold involved.

Thompson has suggested the trust money is gone and the coins are in another trust, according to records.

Full story...

From Marianas Variety

If you ask scuba divers where the best wreck diving in the world is you only get one answer: Chuuk lagoon.

Chuuk has all of the things going for it that other islands do when it comes to scuba diving: coral reefs, a great variety of fish and aquatic plants, warm waters.

But it also has something most islands do not.

At the bottom of Chuuk lagoon lies over forty Japanese ships and dozens of aircraft. Nowhere else in the world can you find such a large concentration of sunken ships and other man made wreckage.

What is it doing there ? Let’s take a trip back to 1944.

Since the outbreak of the Second World War, Chuuk had been a major naval and air base for the Japanese.

Its excellent harbor within the safe confines of the huge outer reef, coupled with plenty of land area on which to build airbases, guaranteed that Chuuk lagoon would see plenty of action.

The Japanese stationed their powerful combined fleet there because it was an ideal spot to respond to any allied attacks. As the Americans prepared to push the war into the Marshalls, they knew they had to deal with Chuuk.

The air and naval forces there made any activity in the central Pacific hazardous.

Operation Hailstone, February 1944: American aircraft carriers attacked Chuuk, catching several dozen Japanese ships at anchor. Over two days the Americans pounded the Japanese ships and airfields, raining death and destruction on a scale not seen since Pearl Harbor.

Only a few Japanese warships were in harbor at the time, so cargo ships got most of the attention. By the time it ended the Japanese had lost six cruisers, four destroyers, five smaller warships, thirty two merchant ships, 270 aircraft, and thousands of lives.

It was an epic disaster for the Japanese and it rendered Chuuk unusable for the rest of the war. Chuuk’s usefulness as a military base was over, but its value as a global dive destination was just beginning.

Full story...

From The Voice of Russia

An ancient merchant ship has been discovered under Taman Bay near the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.

About 13 centuries ago, the vessel left Byzantium and then sank off Phanagoria, the largest Greek colony on the Taman peninsula.

At the time, Phanagoria was said to be the biggest economic and cultural center in the Mediterranean.

Russian archaeologists will have tougher times ahead trying to shed light on the sinking of the vessel. It is still unclear why there only one amphora was on board and what happened to the cargo.

Scientists are yet to found out the name of the ship which has already been called the most valuable artifact in 12 years.

As for Phanagoria, it was the center of the Bosporan Kingdom in the 5th century B.C. Phanagoria had been an essential part of Byzantium for several centuries and then it became the first capital of Bulgaria and subsequently one of the largest cities of the Khazarian Empire.

Right now, one third of this ancient city is submerged by the sea, which is why many refer to Phanagoria as ‘Russian Atlantis.’

Vladimir Kuznetsov, head of the Phanagorian archaeological expedition, says that it is under the Black Sea that the relevant artifacts are being searched for.

"We are exploring the sea bed with the help of special equipment, Kuznetsov says, citing the 15-meter-long merchant ship that was found under Taman Bay earlier this year.

Right now, we are in the process of cleaning the vessel that was hidden by a 1.5-meter layer of sand.

We were really lucky to find such an ancient ship, something that was preceded by our discovering other artifacts under the Black Sea, including parts of marble statues," Kuznetsov concludes.

Full story...

 
Illustration Art by Don Maitz

From Beach Carolina

As Hollywood pirates reign on the big screen, Blackbeard rules in a big, new exhibit at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort.

In 1718, the notorious pirate ran his flagship, Queen Anne’s Revenge (QAR), aground in Beaufort Inlet, roughly two miles from where the Museum stands today.

On Saturday, June 11, the Museum opened “Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge” – the largest exhibit to date of artifacts from the shipwreck.

“The exhibit includes around 300 artifacts, most of them never before seen on display,” said North Carolina Maritime Museums Nautical Archaeologist David Moore. “We’ve endeavored to tell the story of Blackbeard, along with his associates, adversaries and ships, and the archaeological efforts at the shipwreck site.”

Newly released artifacts, as well as old favorites such as weaponry, will be mixed with interactive computer features, quizzes, props and a look into what the future holds for the shipwreck site.

The Museum offered a full range of buccaneer-based events leading up to the grand opening.

Museum members got a sneak-peak at the exhibit during Members Only Preview Days, June 8 – 10.

On the eve of the grand opening, the Museum celebrated pirate-style with ”An Evening of Merriment.” The seaside soiree included music, exhibit tours, dinner and a rum-tasting !

Full story...