GEOARCHAEOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING OF TWO BYZANTINE SHIPWRECKS IN THE BLACK SEA

This paper discusses methods utilized on the August 2007 Black Sea Expedition of the Institute for Archaeological Oceanography (IAO) at the University of Rhode Island and the Institute for Exploration (IFE). The 2007 Expedition focuses on two shipwrecks from the Byzantine period: Chersonesos A from the 10th century A.D., discovered in 2006, which lies off the coast of Ukraine in 140m depth near the suboxic zone; and Sinop D from the 6th century A.D., which lies off the coast of Turkey at a depth of 325m in the anoxic zone. Both wrecks carried cargos of ceramic jars and have wood preserved to different degrees, depending on dissolved oxygen concentration. The 2007 expedition focuses on environmental monitoring and in situ preservation of these wrecks to better understand the effects of the suboxic and anoxic environments on archaeological materials. Analyses will consist of three parts. First is yearlong monitoring of conductivity, temperature, depth, and dissolved oxygen at both wreck sites to determine variations and dynamics over time. Second is micromorphology of shallow cores taken at points around the wreck to examine preservation of organic material, sulfide mineral concentrations, and evidence of the wreck's impact in the sediment. Finally, thin sections of ceramics will be examined for evidence of the interaction of iron-rich tempers with the surrounding sulfide-rich water. These analyses are still ongoing and further work in upcoming years will continue to aim to understand the effect of the Black Sea's environments on archaeological materials.