Underwater Geophysical Research of the Palaeorelief of Littoral Section of the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast (original) (raw)
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Bulgarian Black Sea Deep Water Archaeology. - Pontica XLVII, 2014, 541-548
The exploration of cultural remains on the seabed has always been among the most fascinating topics in the mind of marine researchers. Nowadays a huge part of humanity cultural-historical heritage is focused there. The milestones of human history and development like displacement of people, recolonization of areas exempt of Pleistocene glaciers, the spread of agriculture during the Neolithic have occurred in places nowadays underwater. The shelf zone of the Black Sea is subject of intense economic activity which causes irreversible damage to cultural heritage. Working principles and criteria for discovery, study and preservation are in urgent need to be . The in situ conservation of underwater archaeological heritage is a highly stimulating subject for planning and experimenting new methods to open new possibilities for conservation, protection and scientific research.
The attached paper is the resume to the presentation. Abstract: The application of geophysical prospecting methods for the purposes of underwater archaeological research allows for the delineation of areas of potential archaeological interest. The present paper focuses on the results achieved during several research projects carried out by the Centre for Underwater Archaeology in 2014 in the aquatoria of Varna (Pasha dere), Pomorie, Chernomorets and Sozopol in relation to the implementation of several investments projects, and in the southern bay of Kiten in relation to the survey and underwater archaeological excavation of an Early Bronze Age settlement funded by the Ministry of Culture.
Here we present a review of the present position of ancient harbours along the Bulgarian coast of the Black Sea. This study provides new insights into the relative sea-level evolution of this area since antiquity. Archeological data show that relative sea level (RSL) was around-4 m below present in the 6 th century BC, rising to the present mean sea level around the 6 th century AD. All ancient harbour facilities on the Bulgarian coast ceased functioning at the end of the 6 th and the beginning of the 7 th centuries AD. Résumé – Prenant en compte la localisation actuelle des ports anciens le long du littoral bulgare de la mer Noire, cette étude propose un nouvel aperçu sur l'évolution relative du niveau marin dans ce secteur depuis l'Antiquité. Les données archéologiques démontrent que ce niveau était inférieur de 4 m au VI e s. av. J.-C. avant d'atteindre le niveau actuel au VI e s. ap. J.-C. Toutes les structures portuaires antiques sur la côte bulgare cessent de fonctionner à la fin du VI e s. av. J.-C. et au début du VII e s. av. J.-C. Mots-clefs : niveau marin, système portuaire, structure submergée, Bulgarie, mer Noire
ANCIENT HARBORS AND UNDERWATER SURVEYS OF YALOVA COASTS – ALTINOVA DISTRICT
4. Uluslararası Bilimsel Araştırmalar Kongresi (14 – 17 Şubat 2019 / Yalova) (UBAK), 2019
The aim of the project, entitled as ‘'The Ancient Ports and Underwater Survey of Yalova Province'' is to detect and determine the ancient ports and underwater archaeological remains within the boundaries of Yalova Province with a coastline of about 105 kilometers and to introduce the cultural potential of the region to the public. The research area of the project covers the coast of the Marmara Sea of Yalova region. It starts in the east with Karamürsel provincial border and will be terminating in Gemlik (Bursa). The area between Yalova and Gebze, which is one of the most active regions of the Marmara Sea since the antiquity was planned as the first phase of the research. The main reason for selecting this area particularly in the first year of the research is the urgency because of the destruction of the shoreline due to shipyards, which is directly proportional to the maritime activities on the coasts of Yalova province. Surveys in the borders of Altınova district, with a coastline of approximately 17 kilometers, have been carried out in three different ways; from the shore, on the boat, and under the water. During the research on the coast, we have investigated the cultural materials which are partially visible and extend out to the sea, our research on the sea is carried out with side-scan sonar, for the ground survey and finally, the anomalies detected by the sonar were investigated more in detail under the water.
Coastal geoarchaeology of Apolonia Pontica, Bulgaria
Méditerranée, 2011
Multidisciplinary geoarchaeological investigation of the ancient Greek colony of Apollonia Pontica (Sozopol, Bulgaria) has been a key research field for the French-Bulgarian archaeological collaboration started in 2002 by the Centre Camille Jullian with the Archaeological Institute and Museum of Sofia and the Archaeological Museum of Sozopol. The main objective of this project was to reconstruct the geomorphological evolution of this coastal area of Apollonia and the palaeoenvironmental context of the necropolis at Kalfata. Particular attention was paid to the location of the ancient harbours of the city, a question directly linked with the chronology of the sandy isthmus between the historical peninsula and the continent.
Bulgaria: Sea-Level Change and Submerged Settlements on the Black Sea
The Black Sea is recognised as having great potential for the preservation of submerged prehistoric sites because of the large area of land exposed on the continental shelf at lowest sea levels, especially along its western and northwestern coastlines. However, very few have been discovered to date, and those that are known are located in Bulgaria. Because of the complexities associated with the periodic isolation of the Black Sea from the Mediterranean and its reconnection, offshore research has tended to focus on geological and geophysical investigation of inundation history, with unresolved and strongly held disagreements about the timing and rapidity of sea level rise at the end of the Last Glacial and its potential human impact. In Bulgaria, a rich concentration of underwater prehistoric sites has been discovered, thanks to dredging activities earlier in the twentieth century and a long tradition of underwater archaeological investigations going back to the 1970s. These demonstrate the presence of substantial in situ village settlements of Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age date in shallow water (<10 m), with excellent preservation of large ceramic assemblages, wooden structures and faunal and palynological data on palaeodiet and palaeoeconomy. More recently, large-scale marine-geological and archaeological projects have begun, aimed at integrating shallow-water inshore investigations with offshore survey in deeper water.
Comptes rendus de l’Acad´emie bulgare des Sciences, 2019
Over the last decades, human impact on the coastal and marine environment has reached unprecedented levels. In order to mitigate this impact, it is necessary to facilitate the integrated management of the marine environment and to optimize maritime spatial planning, so an improvement of our knowledge of the seabed and dynamics of the processes in the coastal zone is needed. The specific transitional character between the land and the sea suggests a complex analysis of the land-based processes affecting the marine area. Integration of data from swath bathymetry and airborne LiDAR scanning allow us to create a general digital model of the terrain and seafloor relief with a cell size of 3 m for the area between Sozopol and Tsarevo and to understand the coastal morphology in details. Combining the terrain model with sonar mosaics , orthophoto images and seabed sediment data (both grab sampling and video observations), a complete map of the coastal zone was produced. By applying globally accepted schemes for clastic sediment rock classification, the seabed sediment varieties were defined in detail by their physical characteristics and verified by geological sampling. The results can be used for high accuracy bathymetric maps for navigation, habitat characterization, maritime spatial planning, integrated management of the coastal zone, etc.