Subsurface Exploration of Deep-Sea Archaeological Sites

公元前570年黑海的突如其来的洪水淹没了广阔的沿海地区和人类住区。这一灾难性事件及其可能造成的环境变化肯定影响了近东和欧洲农业革命的进展。最近在黑海被淹没的古老海岸沿线发现了这场洪水之前显然保存完好的考古遗址。这些水下遗址可以为了解农业传播到欧洲时人类社会的经济转型提供新的线索。1999年，当我们在土耳其辛诺普附近进行深水考古调查时发现了一条古老的海岸线，黑海盆地迅速充填的地质证据得到了支持。对土耳其海岸外的黑海海底进行的水深测量发现，沿着12英里宽的淹没的沿海平原有一个起伏的河谷。声纳识别了海底的100个声纳异常(称为目标)，并通过远程视频进行了检查。在这些沉船中，有四艘是古代或历史性的沉船。一个声纳目标(第82号)根据其独特的轮廓和大小被确定为潜在的人类居住地。第82号遗址位于水下95米处，由15×6米的大(1×1米)石灰石板组成，轮廓规则，面积为15×6米。2000年的初步测试表明，82号遗址的表面覆盖着大约7厘米的现代沉积物。从该遗址提取的沉积物样本含有木炭、种子和高磷酸盐含量，与世界其他地区发现的水下考古遗址一致。宾夕法尼亚大学正在协调考古调查。土耳其当局已批准在2003年对该地点进行进一步调查。来自国家科学基金会的一笔赠款将允许在这个地点进行测绘、采样和考古挖掘，远远低于潜水员可以工作的深度。机器人挖掘的方法是试验性的，正在考古学家、工程师和海洋学家之间的合作下开发，专门针对这个项目。伍兹霍尔海洋研究所正在建造一种新的水下机器人，它将有能力进行机器人考古调查。大约两周的时间将在美国国家安全部队的克诺尔号军舰上进行，该军舰计划于2003年7月驶入黑海。拟议在第82号场地进行的研究将包括：1)精细比例尺测绘(分辨率为1厘米)，2)现场和场外沉积物岩心取样，3)使用机器人车辆进行小规模挖掘，以及4)保存场地和回收的样品。被淹没的黑海海岸似乎是一片独特的保存完好的新石器时代景观，没有被任何后来的人类占领所改变。82号遗址的地理环境为我们理解人类历史和环境变化之间的关键关系提供了不同寻常的潜力。82号遗址的调查结果应提供关于洪灾前黑海地区古代经济和文化的详细信息，相关的海洋学研究应对近东和欧洲社会转型的关键时期环境变化的性质和速度问题提供答案。为此次调查开发的机器人研究工具将为水下表面的研究开辟新的可能性，适用于任何浅水或深水环境。

The abrupt flooding of the Black Sea in 5700 BC submerged wide coastal areas and human settlements. This catastrophic event and the environmental changes it would have caused must have influenced the progress of the agricultural revolution in the Near East and Europe. Apparently well-preserved archaeological sites pre-dating this flooding have recently been identified along the submerged ancient coast of the Black Sea. These underwater sites could shed new light on economic transformations of human society at the time of the spread of agriculture into Europe. Geologic evidence of the rapid infilling of the Black Sea basin received support when an ancient beachline was found during our deep water archaeological survey near Sinop, Turkey in 1999. Bathymetry of the Black Sea floor off the Turkish coast identified a rolling river valley along a 12 mile wide submerged coastal plain. One hundred sonar anomalies (called targets) on the sea floor were identified by sonar and examined by remote video. Of these, four were ancient or historic shipwrecks. One sonar target (no. 82) was identified as a potential site of human habitation on the basis of its distinctive outline and size. Site 82, located under 95 m of water, is composed of large (1 x 1 m) slabs of limestone in a regular rectangular outline in an area 15 x 6 m. Preliminary testing in 2000 indicated that the surface of Site 82 is covered with approximately 7 cm of modern sediment. A sediment sample taken from the site had charcoal, seeds, and an elevated phosphate content consistent with submerged archaeological sites found in other areas of the world. Archaeological investigations are being coordinated at the University of Pennsylvania. The Turkish authorities have granted a permit to further investigate this site in 2003. A grant from the National Science Foundation will allow mapping, sampling and archaeological excavations at this site, well below the depths at which divers can work. The methodologies for robotic excavation are experimental and are being developed in a collaboration between archaeologists, engineers and oceanographers expressly for this project. A new ROV which will have the capabilities to carry out archaeological investigations robotically is being built at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. Approximately two weeks will be spent on-site aboard the NSF ship USS Knorr, which is scheduled to be in the Black Sea in July, 2003. The proposed research at Site 82 will include: 1) fine scale mapping (to a resolution of 1 cm), 2) core sampling of sediments on- and off-site, 3) small scale excavation using the robotic vehicle, and 4) conservation of the site and of samples recovered. The submerged Black Sea coast appears to be a uniquely well-preserved Neolithic landscape, unmodified by any subsequent human occupation. Site 82 in its geographic setting offers us unusual potential for understanding the key relationship between human history and environmental change. Results of the investigation at Site 82 should provide detailed information about the ancient economy and culture of the Black Sea region prior to the flooding, The associated oceanographic studies should provide answers to questions concerning the nature and rapidity of environmental change at a critical period in the transformation of societies of the Near East and Europe. The robotic research tools being developed for this investigation will open new possibilities for the study of submerged surfaces, applicable in any shallow or deep water environment.