Sinop D is an ancient Black Sea shipwreck located to the east of

Sinop, Turkey Sinop, historically known as Sinope (; gr, Σινώπη, Sinōpē), is a city on the isthmus of İnce Burun (İnceburun, Cape Ince), near Cape Sinope (Sinop Burnu, Boztepe Cape, Boztepe Burnu) which is situated on the northernmost edge of the ...

. The ship was discovered by a team led by

Robert Ballard Robert Duane Ballard (born June 30, 1942) is an American retired Navy officer and a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island who is most noted for his work in underwater archaeology: maritime archaeology and archaeology o ...

with Dan Davis in 2000. The team discovered the well-preserved wreck at a 320 m depth, in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

's deep

anoxic waters Anoxic waters are areas of sea water, fresh water, or groundwater that are depleted of dissolved oxygen. The US Geological Survey defines anoxic groundwater as those with dissolved oxygen concentration of less than 0.5 milligrams per litre. Anoxic ...

. The vessel's entire hull and cargo are intact, buried in sediments. Its deck structures are also intact, including a mast, and rope attached on the top, rising some 11 m into the water column. Radiocarbon dating of wood from the wreck provides a date of 410–520 CE. However, the wreck could not be completely salvaged as the mud and sediment encasing the wreck were hard to remove without possibly causing damage to the already fragile ship.

Excavations

In 2000, Ballard and his team conducted an expedition that focused on the exploration of the sea bed about 15–30 km west of Sinop, and an additional deep-water survey east and north of the peninsula. Their project had several goals. They sought to discover whether human habitation sites could be identified on the ancient submerged landscape, they examined the sea bed for shipwrecks (where they found Sinop A–D), to test the hypothesis that the anoxic waters below 200 m would protect shipwrecks from the expected biological attacks on organic components, and to seek data about an ancient trade route between Sinop and

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

indicated by terrestrial archaeological remains. The wreck found provided the team with vast information about both the technological changes and trade that occurred in the Black Sea during a period of political, social and economic transition through their study of the ship's construction techniques. Studies show that long-distance trading had developed in Sinop as early as 4500 BCE. Sea trading on the Black Sea was most intense during the period of

late antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...

, between the 2nd and 7th centuries CE. Sinop D provides direct evidence for Black Sea maritime trade so well attested by the distribution of ceramics on land. Sinop D provided Ballard and his team with an unprecedented opportunity to document hull construction during a time of transition. When observing the sonar signature of Sinop D, a long, slender upright feature on the sea-bed transformed itself into a wooden mast. Elements rarely present on shallower shipwreck sites are beautifully preserved 200 m below the surface. There are currently few indications of how the planks of Sinop D are held together, as the bulk of the ship remains buried in sediments. There are no mortise and tenon fastenings, and no sewing. Sinop D was originally thought to be one of the earliest

lateen A lateen (from French ''latine'', meaning "Latin") or latin-rig is a triangular sail set on a long yard mounted at an angle on the mast, and running in a fore-and-aft direction. The settee can be considered to be an associated type of the same ...

-rigged ships available to be studied by archaeologists. However, a 2007 expedition to the site identified what is now believed to be a mast for an

artemon Artemon ( grc, Ἀρτέμων) (fl. c. 230 AD), a prominent Christian teacher in Rome, who held Adoptionist, or Nontrinitarian views. We know little about his life for certain. He is mentioned as the leader of a nontrinitarian sect at Rome in ...

, which would suggest a different type of vessel. Some photos are available online.Deepwater investigations of two Byzantine shipwrecks, 2007
/ref> New technology is currently in development that will allow more thorough and preservative excavations to take place.

Documentaries

A small segment regarding the excavations done on Sinop D is now found on National Geographic's '' Drain the Oceans''. Here, Dan Davis, along with other marine archaeologists and classists look at the influence on the Black Sea in relation to Roman ships from the times of the Ancient Romans.

Excavations

Documentaries

See also

References

Further reading