Subsurface Exploration of Deep-Sea Archaeological Sites

公元前5700年，黑海突然泛滥，淹没了大片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，在被淹没的黑海古海岸沿着发现了一些显然保存完好的考古遗址，这些遗址的年代可以追溯到这次洪水之前。 这些水下遗址可以为农业向欧洲传播时人类社会的经济转型提供新的线索。 1999年，我们在土耳其锡诺普附近的深水考古调查中发现了一条古老的海滩线，这支持了黑海盆地快速填充的地质证据。 对土耳其海岸外的黑海海底进行的水深测量确定了一个沿着12英里宽的水下海岸平原起伏的河谷。 海底的100个声纳异常（称为目标）被声纳识别，并通过远程视频进行检查。 其中有四艘是古代或历史悠久的沉船。 一个声纳目标（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号场地位于水下95米处，由大块（1 x 1米）石灰石板组成，呈规则矩形轮廓，面积为15 x 6米。 2000年的初步测试表明，82号地点的表面覆盖着约7厘米厚的现代沉积物。 从该遗址采集的沉积物样本中含有木炭、种子和高含量的磷酸盐，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。 土耳其当局已于2003年批准对该场址进行进一步调查。 美国国家科学基金会的一笔赠款将允许在这个地点进行绘图、取样和考古发掘，这个地点远低于潜水员可以工作的深度。 机器人挖掘的方法是实验性的，正在考古学家，工程师和海洋学家之间的合作中开发，特别是为了这个项目。 伍兹霍尔海洋研究所正在建造一个新的机器人，它将有能力进行机器人考古调查。 大约两个星期的时间将在美国国家科学基金会的克诺尔号船上进行，该船定于2003年7月在黑海。 拟议在82号场址进行的研究将包括：1）精细比例绘图（分辨率为1厘米），2）对场址内外的沉积物进行岩心取样，3）使用机器人车辆进行小规模挖掘，以及4）保护场址和回收的样品。 被淹没的黑海海岸似乎是一个独特的保存完好的新石器时代景观，未被任何随后的人类占领。 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号地点的调查结果应能提供洪水前黑海地区古代经济和文化的详细资料，相关的海洋学研究应能回答有关近东和欧洲社会转型关键时期环境变化的性质和速度的问题。 正在为这项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.