1 00:00:00,121 --> 00:00:03,288 (contemplative music) 2 00:00:07,743 --> 00:00:10,006 The sea for me has a fascination. 3 00:00:12,183 --> 00:00:14,683 I like being on the sea, I sleep better on a boat. 4 00:00:15,543 --> 00:00:18,176 I like the smell of it, the taste of it. 5 00:00:19,630 --> 00:00:21,530 And so it's somewhere where I'm happy. 6 00:00:25,593 --> 00:00:28,743 Yeah the depth there is 261 meters. 7 00:00:28,743 --> 00:00:29,893 261, well done. 8 00:00:33,753 --> 00:00:37,146 As the ROV moves in, there's always this moment, 9 00:00:38,993 --> 00:00:43,013 the green haze of water gradually resolves into this shape 10 00:00:46,613 --> 00:00:48,063 and you start seeing timbers. 11 00:00:52,313 --> 00:00:57,033 I feel this uncontrollable sort of surge of excitement. 12 00:00:58,333 --> 00:01:01,866 Finding shipwrecks like that is breathtaking. 13 00:01:02,903 --> 00:01:05,380 You're thinking, I wonder what's this gonna be. 14 00:01:05,380 --> 00:01:08,547 (contemplative music) 15 00:01:19,273 --> 00:01:21,733 {\an8}(bright music) 16 00:01:21,733 --> 00:01:24,363 {\an8}Sailing east at six knots, 17 00:01:24,363 --> 00:01:27,103 {\an8}the 3000 ton Stril Explorer 18 00:01:27,103 --> 00:01:30,136 {\an8}heads into the mysterious waters of the Black Sea. 19 00:01:34,103 --> 00:01:36,093 She's making for a set of coordinates 20 00:01:36,093 --> 00:01:38,014 off the Bulgarian coast. 21 00:01:38,014 --> 00:01:42,273 (speaking in foreign language) 22 00:01:42,273 --> 00:01:45,163 On board, and international team of scientists, 23 00:01:45,163 --> 00:01:48,873 lead by Jon Adams, one of the maritime archeologists 24 00:01:48,873 --> 00:01:52,276 who raised King Henry VIII's flagship, the Mary Rose. 25 00:01:55,503 --> 00:01:57,553 We have some good target areas 26 00:01:57,553 --> 00:02:00,113 that we would like to get a little bit more information 27 00:02:00,113 --> 00:02:01,923 but these are the selected locations 28 00:02:01,923 --> 00:02:05,153 and what we've done is we've given the coordinates 29 00:02:05,153 --> 00:02:06,293 to the bridge. 30 00:02:06,293 --> 00:02:08,443 We're steaming off to do the first one now. 31 00:02:12,403 --> 00:02:14,273 More used to battling the storms 32 00:02:14,273 --> 00:02:16,713 of the North Sea for the oil industry, 33 00:02:16,713 --> 00:02:19,313 the high-tech Scandinavian survey vessel 34 00:02:19,313 --> 00:02:22,176 will be the operational centerpiece of the expedition. 35 00:02:23,646 --> 00:02:24,553 Bridge deck? 36 00:02:24,553 --> 00:02:25,443 Go ahead. 37 00:02:25,443 --> 00:02:28,544 Yeah, just let us secure the leg. 38 00:02:28,544 --> 00:02:29,970 Okay, thank you. 39 00:02:29,970 --> 00:02:32,173 10:15, okay. 40 00:02:32,173 --> 00:02:35,052 We're heading straight towards where we said we'd be. 41 00:02:35,052 --> 00:02:37,719 (dynamic music) 42 00:02:41,749 --> 00:02:45,073 The Stril Explorer is incredible ocean-going survey vessel. 43 00:02:45,073 --> 00:02:47,773 With all the systems that anybody could possibly need. 44 00:02:48,713 --> 00:02:51,813 {\an8}If I was to design a vessel and equipment 45 00:02:51,813 --> 00:02:54,406 {\an8}to do deep-water archeology, this is it. 46 00:02:57,353 --> 00:02:59,063 For the next four weeks, 47 00:02:59,063 --> 00:03:04,063 home, family, life on land will take a back seat 48 00:03:04,223 --> 00:03:07,973 in a quest to uncover the story of the Black Sea. 49 00:03:07,973 --> 00:03:10,640 (dynamic music) 50 00:03:15,538 --> 00:03:18,205 (waves lapping) 51 00:03:19,323 --> 00:03:24,283 This vast sea was once a prehistoric lake, 52 00:03:24,283 --> 00:03:26,566 unconnected to the world's oceans. 53 00:03:30,613 --> 00:03:32,976 How it then flooded remains disputed. 54 00:03:35,443 --> 00:03:39,703 Some scientist have argued there was a catastrophic deluge 55 00:03:39,703 --> 00:03:42,176 which inspired the Biblical flood story. 56 00:03:47,953 --> 00:03:51,513 Along its shores they've found evidence of early humans 57 00:03:51,513 --> 00:03:56,006 who settled here, worked the land, discovered gold. 58 00:04:01,693 --> 00:04:05,093 In the sea's hidden depths, archeologist believe 59 00:04:05,093 --> 00:04:07,496 there may be evidence of ancient seafaring. 60 00:04:08,713 --> 00:04:11,573 Shipwrecks from long lost empires 61 00:04:13,953 --> 00:04:17,083 that could date back 3,000 years 62 00:04:17,083 --> 00:04:20,976 to when the Greeks first landed on the Black Sea's shores. 63 00:04:23,863 --> 00:04:27,783 Until now, this sea has remained little explored. 64 00:04:27,783 --> 00:04:30,833 Flanked by six countries, the Black Sea was, 65 00:04:30,833 --> 00:04:32,913 for much of the 20th century, 66 00:04:32,913 --> 00:04:34,806 hidden behind the Iron Curtain. 67 00:04:40,973 --> 00:04:44,483 For the next three years Jon Adams and his team 68 00:04:44,483 --> 00:04:47,983 will search for evidence of the lost civilizations 69 00:04:47,983 --> 00:04:52,033 and the ancient peoples who lived and sailed 70 00:04:52,033 --> 00:04:53,806 on this mysterious sea. 71 00:04:56,213 --> 00:04:59,233 The whole area is an archeological hotspot 72 00:04:59,233 --> 00:05:01,713 in terms of what we know about ancient civilizations 73 00:05:01,713 --> 00:05:02,976 along its shores. 74 00:05:05,503 --> 00:05:10,023 And in theory we would expect tremendously exciting 75 00:05:10,023 --> 00:05:13,261 remains from past cultures underwater as well. 76 00:05:13,261 --> 00:05:16,428 (contemplative music) 77 00:05:19,283 --> 00:05:22,613 Adams' right hand man is Kroum Batchvarov, 78 00:05:22,613 --> 00:05:25,033 one of the few maritime archeologist ever 79 00:05:25,033 --> 00:05:27,066 to have worked on a Black Sea shipwreck. 80 00:05:28,143 --> 00:05:30,133 This is going to sound cheesy 81 00:05:30,133 --> 00:05:32,133 but we really are making history. 82 00:05:32,133 --> 00:05:34,163 The shipwrecks that we're likely to find, 83 00:05:34,163 --> 00:05:38,033 {\an8}they're thousands upon thousands of years of seafaring 84 00:05:38,033 --> 00:05:42,306 {\an8}in this region and we know virtually nothing about it. 85 00:05:44,213 --> 00:05:47,046 Helen Farr specializes in prehistory, 86 00:05:48,153 --> 00:05:51,116 uncovering the worlds in which ancient peoples lived. 87 00:05:52,633 --> 00:05:57,583 {\an8}Understanding that human narrative against the backdrop 88 00:05:57,583 --> 00:06:01,573 {\an8}of this changing landscape of sea level rise 89 00:06:01,573 --> 00:06:05,313 is really important for understanding where we've come from, 90 00:06:05,313 --> 00:06:07,533 who we are, what makes humans human. 91 00:06:07,533 --> 00:06:10,929 It's something that people are really engaged with. 92 00:06:10,929 --> 00:06:11,762 ROV submit. 93 00:06:11,762 --> 00:06:13,793 Managing the team's state of the art 94 00:06:13,793 --> 00:06:16,593 imaging systems is maritime archeologist 95 00:06:16,593 --> 00:06:18,416 Rodrigo Pacheco-Ruiz. 96 00:06:20,403 --> 00:06:22,853 The Black Sea has never been explored this way. 97 00:06:24,063 --> 00:06:25,353 It's virgin territory. 98 00:06:25,353 --> 00:06:28,166 There's very little archeology done here. 99 00:06:29,555 --> 00:06:32,543 {\an8}You know this is the biggest museum in the world. 100 00:06:32,543 --> 00:06:35,996 {\an8}And it's all underwater so, a lot of exciting stuff. 101 00:06:37,780 --> 00:06:41,697 (speaking in foreign language) 102 00:06:43,590 --> 00:06:44,516 Ah, here's Jon. 103 00:06:46,243 --> 00:06:47,436 Are we ready? 104 00:06:48,310 --> 00:06:49,193 Almostish? 105 00:06:49,193 --> 00:06:52,523 My estimate is about another 30, 35 minutes. 106 00:06:52,523 --> 00:06:53,389 Excellent. Good. 107 00:06:53,389 --> 00:06:54,389 All right. 108 00:07:02,098 --> 00:07:03,939 (speaking in foreign language) 109 00:07:03,939 --> 00:07:06,473 Stril Explorer, Stril Explorer. 110 00:07:06,473 --> 00:07:08,493 (speaking in foreign language) 111 00:07:08,493 --> 00:07:12,273 Just for information we are conducting sub-sea operation. 112 00:07:12,273 --> 00:07:15,743 Can you keep clear of us one nautical mile please? 113 00:07:15,743 --> 00:07:16,707 Thank you very much. 114 00:07:16,707 --> 00:07:18,888 Okay I will be clear of you one-- 115 00:07:18,888 --> 00:07:20,913 The Stril reaches the coordinates 116 00:07:20,913 --> 00:07:25,016 where sonar has located a signature at 300 meters. 117 00:07:27,703 --> 00:07:30,156 But what's down there, no one is sure. 118 00:07:40,093 --> 00:07:43,323 Alongside the scientists is a team of deep sea surveyors, 119 00:07:43,323 --> 00:07:47,183 equipped with the latest laser and sonar technology. 120 00:07:47,183 --> 00:07:51,906 And six pilots for the remotely operated vehicles or ROVs. 121 00:07:56,193 --> 00:07:59,313 Linked to the ship by a fiber-optic cable, 122 00:07:59,313 --> 00:08:03,676 the Supporter ROV can reach depths of nearly 2000 meters. 123 00:08:04,923 --> 00:08:07,956 Gliding through the water with the touch of a joystick. 124 00:08:09,017 --> 00:08:10,120 Y'all are ready? 125 00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:12,533 Yes ready, ready, take it away guys. 126 00:08:16,512 --> 00:08:19,060 All stations ROV off deck. 127 00:08:19,060 --> 00:08:21,810 (intense music) 128 00:08:40,366 --> 00:08:43,283 (bubbles gurgling) 129 00:08:50,203 --> 00:08:52,943 Bridge, confirm I have a green light for diving? 130 00:08:52,943 --> 00:08:53,974 Yes you have. 131 00:08:53,974 --> 00:08:58,974 Thank you, Colin out. 132 00:09:00,943 --> 00:09:04,266 Adams' command post is the ROV pilot's cabin. 133 00:09:05,483 --> 00:09:08,803 The Supporter's eight cameras will open a window 134 00:09:08,803 --> 00:09:10,066 to an undiscovered world. 135 00:09:10,963 --> 00:09:12,186 Calibrating the camera yeah, 136 00:09:12,186 --> 00:09:13,646 and then getting the lights right. 137 00:09:15,524 --> 00:09:17,623 Okey dokey. 138 00:09:17,623 --> 00:09:18,623 Let me know. 139 00:09:29,053 --> 00:09:30,363 As it descends, 140 00:09:30,363 --> 00:09:32,753 the Supporter gets closer and closer 141 00:09:32,753 --> 00:09:34,816 to what makes the Black Sea unique. 142 00:09:35,883 --> 00:09:40,883 At a depth of 150 meters, oxygen in the water disappears. 143 00:09:41,323 --> 00:09:43,823 The sea becomes a dead zone. 144 00:09:48,829 --> 00:09:49,662 Go up? 145 00:09:49,662 --> 00:09:52,623 Yeah, the depth here is 261 meters. 146 00:09:52,623 --> 00:09:57,623 261, well dumno. 147 00:10:00,833 --> 00:10:02,083 Come on guys. 148 00:10:08,601 --> 00:10:11,684 (otherworldly music) 149 00:10:21,027 --> 00:10:23,610 (serene music) 150 00:10:31,882 --> 00:10:33,412 You told me to tell you. 151 00:10:33,412 --> 00:10:35,065 Again, that camera. 152 00:10:35,065 --> 00:10:36,565 Ooo, look at that. 153 00:10:38,633 --> 00:10:41,036 It's stunning, my god! 154 00:10:41,993 --> 00:10:42,973 Look at that. 155 00:10:42,973 --> 00:10:44,326 Oh this is beautiful. 156 00:10:45,253 --> 00:10:47,230 Oh this is absolutely beautiful. 157 00:10:52,333 --> 00:10:54,833 Much of the wreck has been preserved. 158 00:10:56,693 --> 00:10:59,176 The wooden balustrades around the quarter-deck. 159 00:11:03,273 --> 00:11:05,436 The ropes for working the sails. 160 00:11:07,183 --> 00:11:10,186 In other seas, most of this wreck would not have survived. 161 00:11:11,193 --> 00:11:12,993 That's quite a lot of rope. 162 00:11:12,993 --> 00:11:14,713 Oh yes. 163 00:11:14,713 --> 00:11:15,776 That's brilliant. 164 00:11:21,733 --> 00:11:24,346 Look at the mast leaning against the beam. 165 00:11:27,913 --> 00:11:29,533 Yeah absolutely, absolutely. 166 00:11:29,533 --> 00:11:31,033 But have you seen the carving? 167 00:11:32,137 --> 00:11:34,137 Oh the carving, it's all over the place. 168 00:11:36,183 --> 00:11:37,256 Absolutely beautiful. 169 00:11:43,173 --> 00:11:45,783 The carved patterns of flowers and vines 170 00:11:45,783 --> 00:11:46,646 are Islamic. 171 00:11:49,043 --> 00:11:52,043 The ship would have sailed during the Ottoman Empire. 172 00:11:52,043 --> 00:11:54,370 Probably around 300 years ago. 173 00:12:01,853 --> 00:12:04,482 Its just unbelievable, it's just unbelievable. 174 00:12:04,482 --> 00:12:05,315 I just. 175 00:12:07,803 --> 00:12:08,743 You ever see that? 176 00:12:08,743 --> 00:12:09,663 No, no, no. 177 00:12:09,663 --> 00:12:13,473 Not live, not doing it now. 178 00:12:13,473 --> 00:12:16,006 It's down there, 300 meters. 179 00:12:17,813 --> 00:12:20,926 We are discovering it, we are looking at it. 180 00:12:22,863 --> 00:12:24,206 Now for the first time. 181 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:29,783 (gentle music) 182 00:12:35,523 --> 00:12:37,333 Three centuries ago, 183 00:12:37,333 --> 00:12:40,766 the Black Sea was a prized possession of the Ottoman Empire. 184 00:12:41,653 --> 00:12:45,763 Merchant ships plied their trade along its coastline. 185 00:12:45,763 --> 00:12:50,143 A vital supply line for the Ottoman capital, Constantinople. 186 00:12:50,143 --> 00:12:51,586 Today's Istanbul. 187 00:12:57,333 --> 00:13:01,383 Within a century of its capture, close to 700,000 people 188 00:13:01,383 --> 00:13:03,116 lived in this teeming city. 189 00:13:04,453 --> 00:13:07,313 Feeding the growing population was a priority 190 00:13:07,313 --> 00:13:08,463 for the Ottoman rulers. 191 00:13:13,893 --> 00:13:16,143 Ports at the mouths of the great rivers 192 00:13:16,143 --> 00:13:19,333 that fed into the Black Sea from Russia and Europe 193 00:13:19,333 --> 00:13:22,676 were vital trading post and were quickly captured. 194 00:13:24,793 --> 00:13:28,493 An armada of small traders began to ferry vital supplies 195 00:13:28,493 --> 00:13:29,946 back to Constantinople. 196 00:13:31,533 --> 00:13:36,143 Some ships, their hulls laden with grain from the Balkans, 197 00:13:36,143 --> 00:13:40,266 precious metals from the Caucuses, never made it home. 198 00:13:54,111 --> 00:13:56,983 In theory, shipwrecks that come to rest 199 00:13:56,983 --> 00:14:00,293 in 300 meters of water should be well preserved 200 00:14:01,873 --> 00:14:03,173 but we didn't really know. 201 00:14:04,843 --> 00:14:08,293 So the first time we started to see an Ottoman wreck, 202 00:14:08,293 --> 00:14:09,716 that was a moment. 203 00:14:10,573 --> 00:14:15,003 It really is like this and we can see wonderful things 204 00:14:15,003 --> 00:14:17,203 all over the bottom of this sea potentially. 205 00:14:20,069 --> 00:14:22,819 {\an8}(horn bellowing) 206 00:14:27,422 --> 00:14:31,339 (speaking in foreign language) 207 00:14:34,903 --> 00:14:36,673 The expedition to the Black Sea 208 00:14:36,673 --> 00:14:41,520 began 12 months earlier on a Greek survey ship, the Aegaeo. 209 00:14:42,446 --> 00:14:45,613 (contemplative music) 210 00:14:47,153 --> 00:14:50,573 Adams' mission was to settle a scientific argument 211 00:14:50,573 --> 00:14:52,986 that has divided archeology for decades. 212 00:14:54,083 --> 00:14:55,626 How the Black Sea flooded. 213 00:15:05,773 --> 00:15:08,313 Using a sonar device called a tow-fish 214 00:15:08,313 --> 00:15:10,783 which emits powerful pulses of sound, 215 00:15:10,783 --> 00:15:12,446 the team surveys the sea floor. 216 00:15:21,602 --> 00:15:24,243 (ticking) 217 00:15:24,243 --> 00:15:26,853 The sounds pulses penetrate the seabed, 218 00:15:26,853 --> 00:15:30,026 feeding back a detailed profile of the prehistoric landscape 219 00:15:30,026 --> 00:15:31,533 that once existed. 220 00:15:32,376 --> 00:15:35,543 (contemplative music) 221 00:15:39,146 --> 00:15:43,646 20,000 years ago, the Black Sea looked very different. 222 00:15:45,803 --> 00:15:47,853 In the grip of the last ice age, 223 00:15:47,853 --> 00:15:50,053 global sea levels were much lower 224 00:15:50,053 --> 00:15:52,996 and the Black Sea was a smaller fresh water lake. 225 00:15:55,243 --> 00:15:58,746 Early humans probably lived and hunted on its shores. 226 00:16:03,783 --> 00:16:06,533 At the moment we are more or less steaming 227 00:16:06,533 --> 00:16:08,456 over the paleo shoreline. 228 00:16:11,253 --> 00:16:13,953 In other words, from here in that way 229 00:16:13,953 --> 00:16:18,433 towards land of Bulgaria which we can see on the horizon, 230 00:16:18,433 --> 00:16:20,506 everything was dry land once upon a time. 231 00:16:21,542 --> 00:16:24,709 (contemplative music) 232 00:16:28,993 --> 00:16:31,683 For decades, most geologist agree 233 00:16:31,683 --> 00:16:33,903 that as the ice age ended, 234 00:16:33,903 --> 00:16:37,136 fresh water from the surrounding river poured into the lake. 235 00:16:40,153 --> 00:16:43,116 Over thousands of years, it slowly filled up. 236 00:16:46,133 --> 00:16:48,833 Eventually the lake reached the Bosphorus 237 00:16:49,683 --> 00:16:53,303 and began to mix with seawater from the Mediterranean. 238 00:16:53,303 --> 00:16:56,326 Creating the Black Sea that exists today. 239 00:16:58,203 --> 00:17:01,353 Then in 1997, the theory was challenged 240 00:17:01,353 --> 00:17:05,546 by two American scientists, Walter Pittman and William Ryan. 241 00:17:07,703 --> 00:17:09,793 They argued that there was little change 242 00:17:09,793 --> 00:17:13,603 to the prehistoric lake until a few thousand years ago 243 00:17:13,603 --> 00:17:16,433 when the rising seawater level of the Mediterranean 244 00:17:16,433 --> 00:17:17,926 burst through the Bosporus. 245 00:17:19,053 --> 00:17:21,353 The theory sparked huge public interest 246 00:17:21,353 --> 00:17:24,396 recalling Noah and the Biblical flood. 247 00:17:24,396 --> 00:17:27,563 (contemplative music) 248 00:17:39,093 --> 00:17:42,023 In three weeks of surveying with the towfish, 249 00:17:42,023 --> 00:17:45,306 the team creates a map of the ancient buried landscape. 250 00:17:46,603 --> 00:17:49,816 The first step in uncovering how the Black Sea formed. 251 00:17:52,477 --> 00:17:55,144 (waves lapping) 252 00:17:57,253 --> 00:18:00,646 Using a second towfish, the team begin a new search. 253 00:18:04,983 --> 00:18:07,236 This time, they're looking for shipwrecks. 254 00:18:11,863 --> 00:18:15,466 In most oceans, ancient ships have long disappeared. 255 00:18:16,493 --> 00:18:19,293 Their wooden timbers eaten by shipworm 256 00:18:19,293 --> 00:18:22,076 as on this 2,000 year old Greek wreck. 257 00:18:24,043 --> 00:18:25,206 But in the Black Sea, 258 00:18:26,473 --> 00:18:30,116 because oxygen below 150 meters disappears, 259 00:18:31,383 --> 00:18:35,643 the water is anoxic and doesn't support life 260 00:18:35,643 --> 00:18:36,736 such as shipworm. 261 00:18:42,133 --> 00:18:45,253 It could mean that ships from long ago empires 262 00:18:45,253 --> 00:18:47,966 still might exist on the seabed. 263 00:19:04,788 --> 00:19:08,371 It's probably part of a barge. 264 00:19:11,210 --> 00:19:13,323 This is the first one that really 265 00:19:14,713 --> 00:19:18,483 sprang out of the screen at us screaming shipwreck. 266 00:19:18,483 --> 00:19:20,683 Even if it's recent this could actually be a really, 267 00:19:20,683 --> 00:19:21,883 really interesting find. 268 00:19:24,930 --> 00:19:28,516 And this is the deepest one, almost 300 meters, 278. 269 00:19:30,373 --> 00:19:33,206 This one's very interesting, that's really good. 270 00:19:34,323 --> 00:19:36,643 We've got collapsed beams and all sorts of things. 271 00:19:36,643 --> 00:19:39,373 You've certainly got what looks like structural timbers 272 00:19:39,373 --> 00:19:40,323 all the way around. 273 00:19:41,213 --> 00:19:43,246 In a way I think it's the most interesting. 274 00:19:44,879 --> 00:19:47,546 (dynamic music) 275 00:19:58,750 --> 00:20:01,933 (speaking in foreign language) 276 00:20:01,933 --> 00:20:04,473 The Stril is heading further out to sea 277 00:20:04,473 --> 00:20:05,583 to deeper water 278 00:20:06,853 --> 00:20:09,676 where the team hope that older wrecks may still lie. 279 00:20:10,893 --> 00:20:13,576 Untouched for perhaps thousands of years. 280 00:20:14,623 --> 00:20:17,443 You can never tell where the ancient shipwrecks will be 281 00:20:17,443 --> 00:20:19,703 but we go down below 150 meters, 282 00:20:19,703 --> 00:20:22,276 preservation becomes dramatically better. 283 00:20:23,443 --> 00:20:25,073 So if you're looking for ancient shipwrecks, 284 00:20:25,073 --> 00:20:27,223 look in the deeper water. 285 00:20:27,223 --> 00:20:29,648 You might get lucky and find some really early stuff. 286 00:20:29,648 --> 00:20:32,815 (contemplative music) 287 00:20:39,283 --> 00:20:41,289 Online and ROV this is bridge. 288 00:20:41,289 --> 00:20:44,443 We are starting position, ready to start whenever you are. 289 00:20:48,416 --> 00:20:51,463 We copy. 290 00:20:51,463 --> 00:20:54,047 Latch open, stand by. 291 00:20:54,047 --> 00:20:56,655 Stand by. 292 00:21:01,653 --> 00:21:03,753 The wreck signature they'll inspect 293 00:21:03,753 --> 00:21:06,846 will take the ROV deeper than it's ever been before, 294 00:21:09,253 --> 00:21:10,506 1,800 meters. 295 00:21:11,601 --> 00:21:14,206 A 40 minute journey to the seabed. 296 00:21:20,573 --> 00:21:23,513 My personal favorite on the wishlist 297 00:21:23,513 --> 00:21:26,623 is a medieval Byzantine shipwreck. 298 00:21:26,623 --> 00:21:29,926 If we find one of those ships I'll be very happy. 299 00:21:33,474 --> 00:21:36,224 (pensive music) 300 00:21:57,886 --> 00:21:58,906 There it is, yeah. 301 00:22:06,333 --> 00:22:10,313 This definitely looks like from the 17th century 302 00:22:10,313 --> 00:22:12,203 Eastern Mediterranean cargo vessel. 303 00:22:12,203 --> 00:22:14,036 That would explain the straight sternpost. 304 00:22:18,843 --> 00:22:20,493 Like the earlier find, 305 00:22:20,493 --> 00:22:22,973 the ship is from the Ottoman Period, 306 00:22:22,973 --> 00:22:24,986 from two to three hundred years ago. 307 00:22:27,659 --> 00:22:28,636 Okay, might as well Cathx. 308 00:22:30,453 --> 00:22:31,953 Ready for contacts? Yeah. 309 00:22:32,853 --> 00:22:36,713 Cathx is one of the ROV's high definition cameras 310 00:22:36,713 --> 00:22:39,546 which photographs the wreck in minute detail. 311 00:22:41,473 --> 00:22:44,523 And it's part of a revolutionary method in surveying wrecks 312 00:22:44,523 --> 00:22:47,523 in deep water, called photogrammetry. 313 00:22:47,523 --> 00:22:49,963 We capture a series of stills at the frame rate 314 00:22:49,963 --> 00:22:51,066 of three every second. 315 00:22:51,953 --> 00:22:55,556 So from this wreck we managed to get 700 photos. 316 00:22:57,643 --> 00:23:00,456 So that's a lot of high resolution photography. 317 00:23:02,903 --> 00:23:05,173 The software stitches it together basically 318 00:23:05,173 --> 00:23:07,323 and you start getting a much better idea 319 00:23:07,323 --> 00:23:09,336 of details of the ship. 320 00:23:11,423 --> 00:23:14,563 The levels of technology have become so advanced. 321 00:23:14,563 --> 00:23:16,923 The things that we used to dream of 322 00:23:16,923 --> 00:23:18,823 as methods of three dimensional recording 323 00:23:18,823 --> 00:23:23,823 things underwater with speed and accuracy now are here. 324 00:23:24,503 --> 00:23:27,233 So to a certain extent you can do an awful lot 325 00:23:27,233 --> 00:23:29,310 sitting in a control, Brian with a cup of coffee in one hand 326 00:23:29,310 --> 00:23:30,713 and a joystick in the other. 327 00:23:30,713 --> 00:23:31,846 Now it's fantastic. 328 00:23:33,143 --> 00:23:35,333 With the image now stitched together, 329 00:23:35,333 --> 00:23:38,203 the team have the precise dimensions of the ship. 330 00:23:38,203 --> 00:23:41,593 Can record every timber, and in this case, 331 00:23:41,593 --> 00:23:44,816 identify every artifact that might otherwise stay hidden. 332 00:23:47,503 --> 00:23:49,413 From the photogrammetry model, 333 00:23:49,413 --> 00:23:52,403 there appears to be an object wedged under a timber 334 00:23:52,403 --> 00:23:54,126 near the stern of the wreck. 335 00:23:56,190 --> 00:23:57,148 You see 'em? 336 00:23:57,148 --> 00:23:57,981 Yes sir. 337 00:23:57,981 --> 00:23:59,814 Stand by. Stand by. 338 00:24:02,173 --> 00:24:04,283 Using the fiberoptically controlled 339 00:24:04,283 --> 00:24:08,913 manipulator arm, the ROV pilot, Brian Garr, 340 00:24:08,913 --> 00:24:11,836 begins the challenging process of retrieving the artifact. 341 00:24:13,778 --> 00:24:16,861 (suspenseful music) 342 00:24:19,863 --> 00:24:22,244 There's an old expression that archeologist 343 00:24:22,244 --> 00:24:24,636 don't dig up things but people. 344 00:24:25,933 --> 00:24:28,966 But it's the things that allow us to get to the people. 345 00:24:32,637 --> 00:24:33,737 Easy out. 346 00:24:41,743 --> 00:24:44,693 We are faced with the material evidence. 347 00:24:44,693 --> 00:24:47,543 The immediacy of that is what fills your brain initially. 348 00:24:50,173 --> 00:24:51,580 And then we start thinking about the people 349 00:24:51,580 --> 00:24:53,633 and wondering what happened. 350 00:24:59,123 --> 00:25:00,433 Most of those shipwrecks out there, 351 00:25:00,433 --> 00:25:02,803 there's no obvious reason that they sunk. 352 00:25:02,803 --> 00:25:03,983 They're on the bottom of the sea. 353 00:25:03,983 --> 00:25:05,883 They probably went down in bad storms. 354 00:25:09,143 --> 00:25:11,526 It would have been a very dire situation to be in. 355 00:25:13,803 --> 00:25:15,179 Well done. 356 00:25:15,179 --> 00:25:18,012 (crew applauding) 357 00:25:27,907 --> 00:25:32,173 What we are looking at is two clay braziers. 358 00:25:32,173 --> 00:25:34,673 On the left one we see traces of burning 359 00:25:34,673 --> 00:25:38,963 and traces of concreted ashes and charcoal 360 00:25:38,963 --> 00:25:41,613 {\an8}which comes to show that the brazier was actively used. 361 00:25:41,613 --> 00:25:45,143 {\an8}In fact when we discovered it it was still full of ashes. 362 00:25:45,143 --> 00:25:47,503 So yeah, this brazier probably contained 363 00:25:47,503 --> 00:25:50,223 the remains of the last meal that was eaten 364 00:25:50,223 --> 00:25:51,767 on board the boat. 365 00:25:51,767 --> 00:25:53,085 (waves crashing) 366 00:25:53,085 --> 00:25:56,335 (contemplative music) 367 00:26:09,453 --> 00:26:11,066 You're talking to these people. 368 00:26:13,673 --> 00:26:15,023 They suddenly become alive. 369 00:26:16,433 --> 00:26:18,386 They are right next to you. 370 00:26:25,893 --> 00:26:27,533 For Kroum Batchvarov 371 00:26:27,533 --> 00:26:29,833 ships are the closest possible connection 372 00:26:29,833 --> 00:26:31,406 to long lost empires. 373 00:26:34,103 --> 00:26:36,746 A way to understand the past and its people. 374 00:26:38,313 --> 00:26:41,593 For more than two years he's been working on the Vasa, 375 00:26:41,593 --> 00:26:43,776 a 17th century Swedish warship. 376 00:26:47,793 --> 00:26:49,213 If you study the timbers properly 377 00:26:49,213 --> 00:26:51,463 you're going to see the marks from the tools. 378 00:26:52,573 --> 00:26:56,293 You will learn to recognize their signature on the 379 00:26:56,293 --> 00:26:58,246 by the way they use their tools. 380 00:27:00,878 --> 00:27:03,383 Batchvarov has been painstakingly examining 381 00:27:03,383 --> 00:27:05,673 each timber of the ship's frame, 382 00:27:05,673 --> 00:27:08,526 carefully reconstructing how the Vasa was built. 383 00:27:13,523 --> 00:27:15,133 It is the first time that we are really 384 00:27:15,133 --> 00:27:17,263 developing an understanding how the shipwrights 385 00:27:17,263 --> 00:27:18,436 put her together. 386 00:27:22,053 --> 00:27:24,583 There are not two timbers that are exactly the same 387 00:27:24,583 --> 00:27:29,466 aboard the ship or that are even universally squared. 388 00:27:31,803 --> 00:27:34,873 The capability of dealing with 389 00:27:34,873 --> 00:27:37,743 complicated engineering problems 390 00:27:37,743 --> 00:27:40,193 this is telling something about the mental state 391 00:27:40,193 --> 00:27:41,036 of these people. 392 00:27:42,333 --> 00:27:44,743 How much they understood the forces 393 00:27:44,743 --> 00:27:46,243 that were acting upon their ships. 394 00:27:46,243 --> 00:27:49,943 How did they solve the problem of creating a regularly 395 00:27:49,943 --> 00:27:52,756 operational vessel that was safe, 396 00:27:53,713 --> 00:27:57,233 that made it sure it will bring its cargo 397 00:27:57,233 --> 00:27:59,423 and preferably also its crew back home 398 00:27:59,423 --> 00:28:00,673 at the end of the voyage. 399 00:28:02,016 --> 00:28:05,493 (suspenseful music) 400 00:28:05,493 --> 00:28:07,163 In the case of the Vasa, 401 00:28:07,163 --> 00:28:09,933 disaster struck on its maiden voyage. 402 00:28:09,933 --> 00:28:12,753 Human error causing it to sink before it had left 403 00:28:12,753 --> 00:28:13,906 Stockholm Harbor. 404 00:28:16,053 --> 00:28:18,743 When it was raised 60 years ago, 405 00:28:18,743 --> 00:28:22,153 archeologists found that the ship, buried in sediment, 406 00:28:22,153 --> 00:28:23,616 had been largely preserved. 407 00:28:25,513 --> 00:28:28,393 Seeing the ship the first time was 408 00:28:29,553 --> 00:28:33,143 the closest to a religious experience that I've ever had. 409 00:28:33,143 --> 00:28:36,163 To me it was entering a cathedral, 410 00:28:36,163 --> 00:28:37,846 medieval gothic cathedral. 411 00:28:40,043 --> 00:28:45,043 That sense of awe, that overwhelming feeling, 412 00:28:47,133 --> 00:28:48,313 has never left me. 413 00:28:54,314 --> 00:28:56,779 Survey Bridge? 414 00:28:56,779 --> 00:28:57,707 Yes go ahead. 415 00:28:57,707 --> 00:29:00,644 We are okay to start operations 416 00:29:00,644 --> 00:29:03,763 and we are also on position. 417 00:29:03,763 --> 00:29:06,663 For over two weeks the Stril has been at sea. 418 00:29:08,383 --> 00:29:12,946 Scientists, surveyors, and ROV pilots working day and night. 419 00:29:14,484 --> 00:29:17,453 (phone trilling) 420 00:29:17,453 --> 00:29:18,286 Must be hard 421 00:29:18,286 --> 00:29:21,763 {\an8}to keep in touch with your daughters Joakim. 422 00:29:21,763 --> 00:29:24,263 {\an8}Yeah, this is life at sea Horowitz. 423 00:29:24,263 --> 00:29:26,053 {\an8}When you have the time to call 424 00:29:26,053 --> 00:29:27,803 they might be doing something else. 425 00:29:28,823 --> 00:29:30,623 There's nothing you can do about it. 426 00:29:31,886 --> 00:29:33,838 Hey, it's Mommy. 427 00:29:33,838 --> 00:29:35,925 Hello. 428 00:29:35,925 --> 00:29:37,249 Are you miss me? 429 00:29:37,249 --> 00:29:38,952 (laughing) Yeah, I do. 430 00:29:38,952 --> 00:29:40,928 Do you miss me? 431 00:29:40,928 --> 00:29:43,013 I heard that Aunty Dandelion 432 00:29:43,013 --> 00:29:45,673 came and painted your fingernails. 433 00:29:45,673 --> 00:29:47,026 Just time to be honest. 434 00:29:47,026 --> 00:29:48,721 I think it's kind of normally when she'd be asleep 435 00:29:48,721 --> 00:29:49,612 lying in bed. 436 00:29:49,612 --> 00:29:52,972 (child crying) That's okay. 437 00:29:52,972 --> 00:29:54,472 Okay, bye. 438 00:30:01,043 --> 00:30:03,293 The hunt for shipwrecks goes on. 439 00:30:04,673 --> 00:30:06,466 All right, 10 meters to go. 440 00:30:08,390 --> 00:30:10,353 But the team is struggling to find 441 00:30:10,353 --> 00:30:14,046 anything older than Ottomans from around 300 years ago. 442 00:30:17,483 --> 00:30:20,113 Ah, not another one. 443 00:30:20,113 --> 00:30:21,593 Oh yeah. 444 00:30:21,593 --> 00:30:23,063 Same old, same old. 445 00:30:23,063 --> 00:30:25,313 Ah, dear oh dear. 446 00:30:26,323 --> 00:30:27,983 It's yet another one. 447 00:30:27,983 --> 00:30:29,243 It's another one to add to our fleet. 448 00:30:29,243 --> 00:30:30,076 Accept for all-- 449 00:30:30,076 --> 00:30:31,945 I think it's a smaller example 450 00:30:31,945 --> 00:30:33,563 than some of the bigger ones that we've seen 451 00:30:33,563 --> 00:30:36,163 but it's the same generic type. 452 00:30:36,163 --> 00:30:38,916 It's disappointing. (chuckling) 453 00:30:45,393 --> 00:30:48,293 None of the discoveries of the ancient wrecks 454 00:30:49,213 --> 00:30:51,376 the deeper anoxic water would hold. 455 00:30:52,549 --> 00:30:55,632 (mechanical pulsing) 456 00:30:57,149 --> 00:30:59,713 ROV Surveyor. 457 00:30:59,713 --> 00:31:01,769 Hello Surveyor. 458 00:31:01,769 --> 00:31:04,454 Were we not just at this shipwreck? 459 00:31:04,454 --> 00:31:07,121 (all chuckling) 460 00:31:10,363 --> 00:31:13,343 You hear the official designation of this sort of ship 461 00:31:13,343 --> 00:31:16,003 the IKEA wreck because they're all the same 462 00:31:16,003 --> 00:31:20,026 and they come virtually flat-packed. (chuckling) 463 00:31:22,073 --> 00:31:24,293 Each inspection takes time, 464 00:31:24,293 --> 00:31:26,503 as much as six hours. 465 00:31:26,503 --> 00:31:28,003 It's eating into the schedule. 466 00:31:30,863 --> 00:31:33,026 They can't take shortcuts. 467 00:31:33,913 --> 00:31:36,836 Every wreck could be the ancient ship they're looking for. 468 00:31:41,303 --> 00:31:44,373 Priced at 20 million dollars, the expedition 469 00:31:44,373 --> 00:31:48,573 has high expectations of making ancient discoveries. 470 00:31:48,573 --> 00:31:50,403 In these this case there's so much money involved, 471 00:31:50,403 --> 00:31:52,463 there's so many people involved as well 472 00:31:52,463 --> 00:31:55,563 and there's a lot of stress, there's a lot of tension. 473 00:31:55,563 --> 00:31:57,683 There's only one chance. 474 00:31:57,683 --> 00:32:02,396 It's uneconomic to get it wrong, basically, at this scale. 475 00:32:02,396 --> 00:32:04,017 There's a lot of pressure, there's a lot of pressure 476 00:32:04,017 --> 00:32:05,942 to get it right. Yeah. 477 00:32:05,942 --> 00:32:08,942 (suspenseful music) 478 00:32:19,993 --> 00:32:21,453 Right, same stuff. 479 00:32:21,453 --> 00:32:22,286 Bloody hell. 480 00:32:25,443 --> 00:32:27,813 That's what it is, archeology is like that. 481 00:32:27,813 --> 00:32:30,223 You just have to work with what you have 482 00:32:30,223 --> 00:32:35,223 but it'll be nice to have something else. 483 00:32:40,409 --> 00:32:42,533 Oh dear oh dear. 484 00:32:42,533 --> 00:32:44,676 Okay, time to leave the crime scene. 485 00:32:46,573 --> 00:32:48,683 Time is running out. 486 00:32:48,683 --> 00:32:51,716 Jon Adams needs more than IKEA wrecks. 487 00:33:02,379 --> 00:33:04,712 (squeaking) 488 00:33:06,426 --> 00:33:09,673 (garbled radio chatter) 489 00:33:09,673 --> 00:33:11,613 He also still has to determine 490 00:33:11,613 --> 00:33:15,153 exactly how and when the Black Sea flooded. 491 00:33:15,153 --> 00:33:17,130 It will take much of the Stril's resources 492 00:33:17,130 --> 00:33:19,306 and many days of ship time. 493 00:33:20,349 --> 00:33:23,301 Surveyor, the report at the surface. 494 00:33:23,301 --> 00:33:24,918 Everything good here, thank you. 495 00:33:24,918 --> 00:33:27,286 Crane you can lower it down. 496 00:33:27,286 --> 00:33:28,886 Copy that, go down. 497 00:33:31,533 --> 00:33:33,083 Armed with last year's map 498 00:33:33,083 --> 00:33:34,653 of the buried landscape 499 00:33:34,653 --> 00:33:37,706 the team selects specific sites on the seabed to core. 500 00:33:39,408 --> 00:33:40,879 (splashing) 501 00:33:40,879 --> 00:33:43,962 (otherworldly music) 502 00:33:47,853 --> 00:33:51,533 Six meter long hollow tubes are lowered onto the seabed, 503 00:33:51,533 --> 00:33:53,246 then pushed into the soft mud. 504 00:34:02,823 --> 00:34:06,093 Once extracted, they'll contain a core of sediment 505 00:34:06,093 --> 00:34:08,731 that could date back tens of thousands of years. 506 00:34:08,731 --> 00:34:11,981 (auto-hammer pounding) 507 00:34:21,828 --> 00:34:24,763 This is fantastic. 508 00:34:24,763 --> 00:34:27,346 A full six meters of consolidated sediment. 509 00:34:33,493 --> 00:34:35,813 What you're looking at here contains all the evidence 510 00:34:35,813 --> 00:34:38,023 for how the environment was at the time 511 00:34:38,023 --> 00:34:39,163 and how it changed over time 512 00:34:39,163 --> 00:34:42,423 {\an8}and that will hopefully help us to address 513 00:34:42,423 --> 00:34:44,232 {\an8}some of the big debates. 514 00:34:44,232 --> 00:34:45,588 {\an8}When it happened, how it happened, and what effects it had 515 00:34:45,588 --> 00:34:50,588 {\an8}on human populations living in the region at the time. 516 00:34:52,093 --> 00:34:54,313 73 sites have been selected 517 00:34:54,313 --> 00:34:56,473 along the shallow coastal shelf 518 00:34:56,473 --> 00:34:58,606 and further out in deeper water. 519 00:34:59,513 --> 00:35:01,753 The team hopes the cores contain evidence 520 00:35:01,753 --> 00:35:03,933 of the prehistoric lake shore, 521 00:35:03,933 --> 00:35:07,293 the first step in understanding when and how 522 00:35:07,293 --> 00:35:08,626 the inundation happened. 523 00:35:10,402 --> 00:35:13,569 (mechanical whirring) 524 00:35:25,085 --> 00:35:27,433 There you go. Not too bad. 525 00:35:27,433 --> 00:35:28,986 Some nice shell material. 526 00:35:28,986 --> 00:35:31,173 Bit of shell there. Right. 527 00:35:31,173 --> 00:35:33,933 In this core, thick mud sits at the top 528 00:35:34,843 --> 00:35:37,773 but further back in time, towards the bottom, 529 00:35:37,773 --> 00:35:40,626 mixed in with the sediment are pieces of shell. 530 00:35:41,473 --> 00:35:45,463 They could be evidence of the lake's prehistoric coastline. 531 00:35:45,463 --> 00:35:46,296 Oh yes. 532 00:35:47,373 --> 00:35:50,813 So we see that and we go huh, that looks familiar, 533 00:35:50,813 --> 00:35:52,016 that looks like a beach. 534 00:35:52,903 --> 00:35:54,033 Why is that underwater? 535 00:35:54,033 --> 00:35:58,843 Well it's ancient beach from before it got submerged. 536 00:35:58,843 --> 00:36:02,563 So if I can understand where that coastline was 537 00:36:02,563 --> 00:36:04,913 then we can start looking at that coastline, 538 00:36:04,913 --> 00:36:06,443 thinking about it. 539 00:36:06,443 --> 00:36:10,106 What was the geography in the past of the Black Sea? 540 00:36:15,793 --> 00:36:18,173 With 73 cores to extract, 541 00:36:18,173 --> 00:36:20,793 every hour of daylight is precious 542 00:36:20,793 --> 00:36:22,683 and that means the search for wrecks 543 00:36:22,683 --> 00:36:24,406 has to go on through the night. 544 00:36:29,206 --> 00:36:32,318 ROV Olag can you just set up the ROV 545 00:36:32,318 --> 00:36:35,023 on the line, your heading turn-- 546 00:36:35,023 --> 00:36:36,903 In the early hours of the morning, 547 00:36:36,903 --> 00:36:38,903 after three weeks at sea, 548 00:36:38,903 --> 00:36:42,396 the team finally finds new wreck signature. 549 00:36:49,053 --> 00:36:50,658 I'd given up and gone to bed 550 00:36:50,658 --> 00:36:51,913 'cause I'd been up for about 24 hours 551 00:36:51,913 --> 00:36:54,273 and lo and behold the phone rings. 552 00:36:54,273 --> 00:36:57,223 They said Jon, Jon, do you want to see something different? 553 00:37:04,123 --> 00:37:05,583 What have we got? 554 00:37:05,583 --> 00:37:07,633 Do a couple more flyovers with this unit. 555 00:37:08,532 --> 00:37:10,873 Just do it, just to indulge me. 556 00:37:10,873 --> 00:37:11,943 Wide angle please. 557 00:37:11,943 --> 00:37:13,093 Yeah sure. 558 00:37:15,583 --> 00:37:17,528 And just a touch higher. 559 00:37:17,528 --> 00:37:19,553 Okay. 560 00:37:19,553 --> 00:37:20,936 Perfect, perfect. 561 00:37:22,083 --> 00:37:22,966 Okay, off we go. 562 00:37:33,143 --> 00:37:34,453 The eeriness of the mast 563 00:37:34,453 --> 00:37:37,606 just sticking out of he darkness, incredible. 564 00:37:46,143 --> 00:37:47,826 Beautiful stuff Colin. Yes. 565 00:37:59,053 --> 00:38:01,543 Do I see tool-marks on that stem? 566 00:38:01,543 --> 00:38:04,323 Can we just, can we just take a little bit of a lower 567 00:38:05,313 --> 00:38:07,016 look down this as we come around? 568 00:38:15,713 --> 00:38:17,913 The new wreck isn't an Ottoman. 569 00:38:19,413 --> 00:38:20,246 It's older. 570 00:38:21,713 --> 00:38:23,346 500 years older. 571 00:38:27,543 --> 00:38:31,246 A merchant ship, most likely built in Italy. 572 00:38:34,343 --> 00:38:39,003 We're looking at a date, around probably 1,200-1,400, 573 00:38:39,003 --> 00:38:40,003 something like that. 574 00:38:42,943 --> 00:38:45,433 And we find pictures of them or reliefs 575 00:38:45,433 --> 00:38:47,733 carved in churches and things but this is the first time 576 00:38:47,733 --> 00:38:49,433 anybody's seen anything like this. 577 00:38:50,303 --> 00:38:52,013 The thing for real, almost intact. 578 00:38:52,013 --> 00:38:52,846 It's amazing. 579 00:38:55,053 --> 00:38:57,846 It's the sort of ship that Marco Polo might have sailed on. 580 00:39:06,943 --> 00:39:10,073 When the great medieval explorer Marco Polo 581 00:39:10,073 --> 00:39:15,073 returned in 1295 to Venice from 24 years in the east, 582 00:39:15,243 --> 00:39:18,163 he traveled home by sail. 583 00:39:18,163 --> 00:39:21,043 His last sea leg was across the Black Sea 584 00:39:23,433 --> 00:39:25,446 on a ship much like this. 585 00:39:29,839 --> 00:39:31,713 Then you start thinking well, 586 00:39:31,713 --> 00:39:34,313 {\an8}the last time that ship was seen 587 00:39:35,653 --> 00:39:38,306 {\an8}was probably the last time those people saw anything. 588 00:39:42,293 --> 00:39:44,293 What would that have been like for them? 589 00:39:47,193 --> 00:39:48,643 It must have been terrifying. 590 00:39:54,223 --> 00:39:56,423 Suddenly it becomes about group of peoples' 591 00:39:56,423 --> 00:39:58,286 very real demise. 592 00:40:01,783 --> 00:40:06,473 And then we were finished and the ROV just drew back. 593 00:40:14,393 --> 00:40:19,303 Suddenly I thought there but the grace of god go I. 594 00:40:24,305 --> 00:40:27,555 (contemplative music) 595 00:40:33,333 --> 00:40:35,823 Lifting a wreck of this age to the surface 596 00:40:35,823 --> 00:40:37,966 would cost tens of millions of dollars. 597 00:40:38,853 --> 00:40:41,666 3D photogrammetry means they don't have to. 598 00:40:46,213 --> 00:40:49,163 Archeologist now have digital tools with which 599 00:40:49,163 --> 00:40:50,556 to explore the wrecks. 600 00:40:52,073 --> 00:40:54,866 Long after the ROV has left the seabed. 601 00:40:56,423 --> 00:40:58,863 That little Mediterranean ship probably built in Venice 602 00:40:58,863 --> 00:41:01,283 or somewhere like that gives us a way into history 603 00:41:01,283 --> 00:41:03,206 that we can't get by any other means. 604 00:41:04,443 --> 00:41:07,393 If you look at the ships in Northern Europe in the 1500s, 605 00:41:07,393 --> 00:41:10,583 like the Mary Rose, that's the other end of the process. 606 00:41:10,583 --> 00:41:13,553 So the Mediterranean ship that we found is the before 607 00:41:13,553 --> 00:41:15,659 and the Mary Rose is the after. 608 00:41:15,659 --> 00:41:18,543 (splashing) 609 00:41:18,543 --> 00:41:20,236 Point the jib west. 610 00:41:21,973 --> 00:41:23,381 Jib west, roger, stand by. 611 00:41:23,381 --> 00:41:24,964 Jib west. 612 00:41:27,050 --> 00:41:27,950 That's that way. 613 00:41:31,053 --> 00:41:34,133 Jon Adams began work on raising the Mary Rose 614 00:41:34,133 --> 00:41:35,736 in the late 1970s. 615 00:41:36,713 --> 00:41:40,073 It quickly became the biggest maritime archeological project 616 00:41:40,073 --> 00:41:44,363 ever undertaken and revealed the ship as a unique document 617 00:41:44,363 --> 00:41:47,059 detailing life in Medieval England. 618 00:41:47,059 --> 00:41:50,309 (contemplative music) 619 00:41:55,693 --> 00:41:58,193 I can picture myself as though it was yesterday. 620 00:41:59,283 --> 00:42:01,266 Being inside this amazing structure. 621 00:42:08,873 --> 00:42:12,253 All the guns were still in place at the time we found them 622 00:42:12,253 --> 00:42:15,583 and there were shot and ropes and longbows 623 00:42:15,583 --> 00:42:17,486 and all sorts of other stuff lying around. 624 00:42:19,727 --> 00:42:21,353 In fact you could swim at one point 625 00:42:21,353 --> 00:42:24,103 from one end of the main deck to the other. 626 00:42:24,103 --> 00:42:26,393 Past all these guns, looking down at the guns 627 00:42:26,393 --> 00:42:28,553 still pointing out through the gun-ports. 628 00:42:28,553 --> 00:42:31,166 And it was just the most amazing experience. 629 00:42:34,093 --> 00:42:37,423 The more we learnt about the ship the more it surprised us. 630 00:42:37,423 --> 00:42:41,023 The ingenuity of the way in which the 631 00:42:41,023 --> 00:42:43,843 internal space was organized and the fixtures and fittings 632 00:42:43,843 --> 00:42:45,313 and the rig and all the other equipment 633 00:42:45,313 --> 00:42:47,296 including of course, the guns. 634 00:42:49,073 --> 00:42:54,073 The ingenuity of how to create this complex floating society 635 00:42:54,213 --> 00:42:57,226 in this structure of thousands of components. 636 00:42:58,268 --> 00:43:01,726 This was a new thing for Europe at the time. 637 00:43:04,083 --> 00:43:06,453 Medieval Europe was changing 638 00:43:06,453 --> 00:43:08,783 from a patchwork of small city states 639 00:43:08,783 --> 00:43:11,416 to powerful nations ruled by monarchies. 640 00:43:13,193 --> 00:43:15,993 Henry the VIII personally paid for the construction 641 00:43:15,993 --> 00:43:17,126 of the Mary Rose. 642 00:43:19,173 --> 00:43:22,536 A potent symbol of his and England's status. 643 00:43:24,923 --> 00:43:26,443 Ships can be seen at this period 644 00:43:26,443 --> 00:43:27,973 as the tools of state-building 645 00:43:29,043 --> 00:43:31,903 because they're now the new form of castle. 646 00:43:31,903 --> 00:43:33,753 They're floating castles, you can take your power 647 00:43:33,753 --> 00:43:34,753 where you want them. 648 00:43:37,413 --> 00:43:40,163 Now when we look at that Italian ship in the Black Sea, 649 00:43:41,843 --> 00:43:44,933 that is the stage of maritime technological development 650 00:43:44,933 --> 00:43:48,266 before this process of technological change happens. 651 00:43:49,653 --> 00:43:52,513 19,000 artifacts were uncovered 652 00:43:52,513 --> 00:43:53,736 from the Mary Rose. 653 00:43:55,873 --> 00:43:58,683 Each one adding to an intimate portrait of life 654 00:43:58,683 --> 00:44:00,856 lived 500 years ago. 655 00:44:04,226 --> 00:44:06,893 (pensive music) 656 00:44:08,713 --> 00:44:12,773 A shipwreck is an accident and it's a floating society 657 00:44:12,773 --> 00:44:14,553 therefore it contains not only the ship, 658 00:44:14,553 --> 00:44:17,803 its technology, its fixtures, its fittings, its rig. 659 00:44:17,803 --> 00:44:21,296 The personal possessions of the crew, their equipment. 660 00:44:25,798 --> 00:44:27,283 You've got this whole complex structure 661 00:44:27,283 --> 00:44:30,186 and all the objects of those people on board. 662 00:44:34,053 --> 00:44:36,863 When you look at a shipwreck you have the best way 663 00:44:36,863 --> 00:44:39,746 of getting at the people that is possible really. 664 00:44:45,390 --> 00:44:47,956 55 meters at 332 bearing. 665 00:44:49,100 --> 00:44:52,383 55 meters at 332 degrees, drop them off? 666 00:44:52,383 --> 00:44:54,633 Drop them off. 667 00:44:55,793 --> 00:44:57,173 Back on the Stril, 668 00:44:57,173 --> 00:45:00,018 something's gone wrong with the latest dive. 669 00:45:00,018 --> 00:45:02,629 When you come to a stop on the vessel 670 00:45:02,629 --> 00:45:04,605 then we'll see if it gets it in again. 671 00:45:04,605 --> 00:45:06,272 Copy that. 672 00:45:10,617 --> 00:45:13,648 Now there's a really, really bad current there 673 00:45:13,648 --> 00:45:15,565 so I would try to turn. 674 00:45:17,568 --> 00:45:18,820 Yes there is. 675 00:45:18,820 --> 00:45:20,523 Can you do a fix on there now? 676 00:45:20,523 --> 00:45:21,797 Yep, sure bridge. 677 00:45:21,797 --> 00:45:22,833 Say again please. 678 00:45:22,833 --> 00:45:23,774 Yes bridge. 679 00:45:23,774 --> 00:45:24,857 Winch away. 680 00:45:25,953 --> 00:45:28,173 Yeah you need to know this is a critical situation. 681 00:45:28,173 --> 00:45:30,123 We're trying to get up and I need to you to speak up 682 00:45:30,123 --> 00:45:31,156 on the coms please. 683 00:45:34,913 --> 00:45:38,346 500 meters down there's a problem with the ROV. 684 00:45:42,413 --> 00:45:45,788 We lost our hydro-acoustic positioning. 685 00:45:45,788 --> 00:45:47,775 It's there but it's not coming up. 686 00:45:47,775 --> 00:45:52,128 Zero depth so I'm not too sure what's up there. 687 00:45:52,128 --> 00:45:54,223 Don't trust this position because definitely 688 00:45:54,223 --> 00:45:56,613 we're not getting anything. 689 00:45:57,673 --> 00:45:59,256 Right. 690 00:46:00,123 --> 00:46:03,423 The Supporter's positioning beacon has broken. 691 00:46:03,423 --> 00:46:05,853 There's several million dollars worth of submersible 692 00:46:05,853 --> 00:46:07,746 out there, somewhere. 693 00:46:12,808 --> 00:46:14,383 (thunder rumbling) 694 00:46:14,383 --> 00:46:18,670 We have a loop of 760 meter of cable now 695 00:46:18,670 --> 00:46:22,153 and we have only 470 meter under the boat 696 00:46:22,153 --> 00:46:24,386 so we cannot just pull in on the loop. 697 00:46:25,273 --> 00:46:27,283 The current has dragged the ROV 698 00:46:27,283 --> 00:46:29,266 nearly half a kilometer out to sea. 699 00:46:31,353 --> 00:46:34,056 But in which direction, no one knows. 700 00:46:35,237 --> 00:46:37,578 Can't really see the cable. 701 00:46:37,578 --> 00:46:40,911 (garbled radio chatter) 702 00:46:42,969 --> 00:46:45,473 Jovan can you get one of the guys on the bridge 703 00:46:45,473 --> 00:46:48,873 to go out and have a look on the miracle cable 704 00:46:48,873 --> 00:46:51,436 and tell me which directions it's going? 705 00:46:53,673 --> 00:46:56,403 If the Supporter is lost, 706 00:46:56,403 --> 00:46:59,626 it'll put a stop to the expedition's hunt for wrecks. 707 00:47:01,863 --> 00:47:03,546 ROV Surveyor? 708 00:47:03,546 --> 00:47:04,393 Yes. 709 00:47:04,393 --> 00:47:06,438 Yeah we have your positioning about 400 meters 710 00:47:06,438 --> 00:47:07,486 from the vessel. 711 00:47:07,486 --> 00:47:09,953 We need to track that to the vessel. 712 00:47:13,601 --> 00:47:15,853 (winch whirring) 713 00:47:15,853 --> 00:47:18,743 Flying blind, all Brian Garr can do 714 00:47:18,743 --> 00:47:21,646 is slowly reel the ROV back onboard. 715 00:47:23,233 --> 00:47:25,536 Without crashing it into the ship's hull. 716 00:47:31,969 --> 00:47:34,479 You see now we're coming up quite fast. 717 00:47:34,479 --> 00:47:37,628 Maybe we lost it, maybe we lost it. 718 00:47:37,628 --> 00:47:40,378 (dramatic music) 719 00:48:01,119 --> 00:48:03,952 (cable straining) 720 00:48:11,728 --> 00:48:13,784 All stations are re-up and back. 721 00:48:13,784 --> 00:48:16,993 (cheering and applauding) 722 00:48:16,993 --> 00:48:19,611 I'm so relieved. (chuckling) 723 00:48:19,611 --> 00:48:21,503 I had this horror of sort of going along 724 00:48:21,503 --> 00:48:23,397 with these sort of millions and millions of pounds 725 00:48:23,397 --> 00:48:24,980 worth of equipment. 726 00:48:26,139 --> 00:48:26,972 Ah. 727 00:48:36,893 --> 00:48:38,273 You take that end. 728 00:48:38,273 --> 00:48:40,253 The coring of the Black Sea 729 00:48:40,253 --> 00:48:44,016 in search of the prehistoric coastline is nearly complete. 730 00:48:45,653 --> 00:48:48,163 Most of the 73 cores have been extracted 731 00:48:48,163 --> 00:48:51,556 from the shallow coastal shelf and from deeper waters. 732 00:48:52,523 --> 00:48:53,956 They've all been sorted but they now need to go 733 00:48:53,956 --> 00:48:55,526 back in a crate and away. 734 00:48:56,673 --> 00:49:01,673 One will attract particular interest, core 59. 735 00:49:02,230 --> 00:49:05,397 {\an8}(contemplative music) 736 00:49:07,303 --> 00:49:10,053 At the U.K.'s National Oceanography Center 737 00:49:10,053 --> 00:49:12,583 scientist from the expedition have found evidence 738 00:49:12,583 --> 00:49:13,986 of the prehistoric lake. 739 00:49:14,943 --> 00:49:19,483 As you can see we've got almost four meters of pure shell. 740 00:49:19,483 --> 00:49:22,213 If we take a sample from here we have a real mixture. 741 00:49:22,213 --> 00:49:25,763 You can see that we have some, slightly more intact shells, 742 00:49:25,763 --> 00:49:27,943 {\an8}some that's slight broken, and then we have this 743 00:49:27,943 --> 00:49:31,363 {\an8}completely ground down shell within it 744 00:49:31,363 --> 00:49:33,653 and this is really where what's happened is 745 00:49:33,653 --> 00:49:36,463 wave energy in a dynamic environment has basically 746 00:49:36,463 --> 00:49:37,452 churned this around. 747 00:49:37,452 --> 00:49:40,043 Breaking 'em down into almost what looks like, 748 00:49:40,043 --> 00:49:41,911 in some places, like as sand 749 00:49:41,911 --> 00:49:43,903 and that's really good evidence that we're on the edge 750 00:49:43,903 --> 00:49:46,056 of the Black Sea Lake as it was then. 751 00:49:49,463 --> 00:49:52,793 Taken 60 kilometers off the present day coast, 752 00:49:52,793 --> 00:49:56,983 the core gives a precise location of the prehistoric lake. 753 00:49:56,983 --> 00:49:59,823 It's shores would have been surrounded by tens of thousands 754 00:49:59,823 --> 00:50:03,636 of square kilometers of dry land that is now submerged. 755 00:50:05,183 --> 00:50:06,863 That takes you to pretty much where 756 00:50:06,863 --> 00:50:09,986 it begins to start dropping off into the real depths. 757 00:50:12,513 --> 00:50:15,663 For Helen Farr, the results could be evidence 758 00:50:15,663 --> 00:50:19,306 of how early humans might have existed on this land. 759 00:50:21,503 --> 00:50:24,556 So that's a large amount of continental shelf here. 760 00:50:24,556 --> 00:50:27,273 That would have been possibly inhabited, 761 00:50:27,273 --> 00:50:30,803 crossed by people that were looking for 762 00:50:30,803 --> 00:50:32,753 the resources that they needed to live. 763 00:50:34,383 --> 00:50:36,413 The Black Sea was a great environment. 764 00:50:36,413 --> 00:50:39,653 You've got rich areas which would have had game 765 00:50:39,653 --> 00:50:40,983 and things to hunt. 766 00:50:40,983 --> 00:50:44,383 You've got fish resources, you've got stone, 767 00:50:44,383 --> 00:50:46,383 so you've got all the things that you really need 768 00:50:46,383 --> 00:50:47,416 to be successful. 769 00:50:48,523 --> 00:50:50,973 Now the scientist need to resolve how 770 00:50:50,973 --> 00:50:53,986 this vast expanse of prehistoric land flooded. 771 00:50:55,043 --> 00:50:57,756 Slowly or catastrophically. 772 00:50:58,843 --> 00:51:02,963 Would people notice it, would that affect people's lives? 773 00:51:02,963 --> 00:51:05,333 What about if it was catastrophic? 774 00:51:05,333 --> 00:51:08,261 How quick is catastrophic? 775 00:51:08,261 --> 00:51:10,844 (gentle music) 776 00:51:18,871 --> 00:51:21,676 55 meters at 332 degrees. 777 00:51:21,676 --> 00:51:23,509 Drop them off? 778 00:51:23,509 --> 00:51:25,509 Drop them off. 779 00:51:26,903 --> 00:51:28,853 All stations ROV off deck. 780 00:51:30,886 --> 00:51:32,486 There's a new find. 781 00:51:36,453 --> 00:51:37,763 Sitting in the shallow waters 782 00:51:37,763 --> 00:51:39,926 of the Bulgarian coastal shelf. 783 00:51:43,423 --> 00:51:45,783 It looks interesting. 784 00:51:45,783 --> 00:51:48,573 I'm refusing to get excited until I know that it's not 785 00:51:48,573 --> 00:51:51,513 a fiberglass replica that's fallen off a container ship 786 00:51:51,513 --> 00:51:53,703 on it's way to a fairground in Georgia or somewhere 787 00:51:53,703 --> 00:51:55,933 so I'm just, you know, not going to allow myself 788 00:51:55,933 --> 00:51:57,083 to get excited. 789 00:51:57,083 --> 00:52:00,043 I mean it could be all sorts of things. 790 00:52:00,043 --> 00:52:02,743 It's just that it looks as though it could be special. 791 00:52:03,589 --> 00:52:06,589 (suspenseful music) 792 00:52:12,540 --> 00:52:15,707 (contemplative music) 793 00:52:28,123 --> 00:52:31,636 Right, we wanna be in there somewhere. 794 00:52:32,713 --> 00:52:33,546 Cheers. 795 00:52:35,395 --> 00:52:37,026 ROV copy, stand by. 796 00:52:38,325 --> 00:52:39,723 20 seconds. 797 00:52:42,875 --> 00:52:45,542 (pensive music) 798 00:52:54,573 --> 00:52:58,233 There is a big-- Something looming. 799 00:52:58,233 --> 00:52:59,083 Yeah. 800 00:53:00,533 --> 00:53:01,626 Here we go. I knew it. 801 00:53:10,243 --> 00:53:11,903 When we came into the wreck 802 00:53:11,903 --> 00:53:13,063 you immediately got the feeling 803 00:53:13,063 --> 00:53:14,723 that this was a wreck that had been down there 804 00:53:14,723 --> 00:53:15,666 many centuries. 805 00:53:22,683 --> 00:53:24,973 So we had a ship on the seabed 806 00:53:24,973 --> 00:53:27,733 with structures still poking through the seabed. 807 00:53:27,733 --> 00:53:29,783 More or less upright because the shape we could see 808 00:53:29,783 --> 00:53:31,483 in the multi-beam was symmetrical. 809 00:53:34,513 --> 00:53:37,436 So it wasn't on one side, it wasn't smashed up. 810 00:53:38,803 --> 00:53:42,463 And the shape of it looked unlike 811 00:53:42,463 --> 00:53:44,263 sort of post-medieval ships 812 00:53:44,263 --> 00:53:46,206 so we suspected it could be earlier. 813 00:53:48,960 --> 00:53:51,710 Inches, yeah, yeah, yeah. 814 00:53:53,773 --> 00:53:57,273 Okay, so if we just pull back again 815 00:53:57,273 --> 00:53:59,026 and look down on the whole thing. 816 00:54:03,543 --> 00:54:05,696 And what's this coming up here? 817 00:54:09,673 --> 00:54:12,791 Ah yes! 818 00:54:12,791 --> 00:54:14,973 (laughing) 819 00:54:14,973 --> 00:54:17,673 Embedded in the sediment is and amphorae. 820 00:54:22,353 --> 00:54:25,563 An ancient clay vessel used for transporting wine 821 00:54:25,563 --> 00:54:26,506 and olive oil. 822 00:54:29,723 --> 00:54:31,883 As we looked at it from more and more angles 823 00:54:31,883 --> 00:54:33,653 it became more and more obvious 824 00:54:33,653 --> 00:54:36,593 that it was some sort of Byzantine type 825 00:54:36,593 --> 00:54:39,483 which immediately puts it into the sort of 826 00:54:39,483 --> 00:54:41,233 maybe 1,000 years old or something. 827 00:54:42,343 --> 00:54:44,793 It's the oldest wreck they've found. 828 00:54:45,773 --> 00:54:49,036 A merchant ship from Byzantine Empire. 829 00:54:51,103 --> 00:54:54,613 Starting a new page in history 830 00:54:54,613 --> 00:54:56,156 we just turned today. 831 00:54:57,553 --> 00:54:58,836 I could not be happier. 832 00:55:00,343 --> 00:55:02,583 It might be 1,000 years old 833 00:55:02,583 --> 00:55:05,016 but no one can date the wreck precisely. 834 00:55:09,073 --> 00:55:11,216 The amphorae could hold the answer. 835 00:55:12,993 --> 00:55:16,076 If they could retrieve it they can date it more closely. 836 00:55:17,663 --> 00:55:19,330 Well for all of us. 837 00:55:19,330 --> 00:55:23,283 For Jon Adams, the Byzantine at 95 meters 838 00:55:23,283 --> 00:55:24,766 is close enough to touch. 839 00:55:26,263 --> 00:55:28,030 Which gasses we would use. 840 00:55:29,900 --> 00:55:31,563 And diving onto the wreck 841 00:55:31,563 --> 00:55:33,453 would give the maritime archeologist 842 00:55:33,453 --> 00:55:36,926 the chance to inspect the ancient ship first-hand. 843 00:55:39,473 --> 00:55:42,213 You can do a lot with ROVs these days 844 00:55:44,255 --> 00:55:46,403 and of course the photogrammetry is a fantastic way 845 00:55:46,403 --> 00:55:48,543 of recording these things in three dimensions. 846 00:55:48,543 --> 00:55:49,676 Incredibly quickly. 847 00:55:51,913 --> 00:55:55,093 But as an archeologist, to actually dive on a shipwreck site 848 00:55:55,093 --> 00:56:00,076 I always learn more than I could remotely. 849 00:56:01,323 --> 00:56:04,645 And I always understand more as a result. 850 00:56:04,645 --> 00:56:05,953 (splashing) 851 00:56:05,953 --> 00:56:08,693 Going down there yourself just gives it an extra, 852 00:56:08,693 --> 00:56:12,356 there's an extra sort of ah, I see, I understand that. 853 00:56:15,723 --> 00:56:18,073 But such a deep dive is dangerous. 854 00:56:24,545 --> 00:56:29,545 (water sloshing) (hoist whirring) 855 00:56:31,346 --> 00:56:34,581 Going to small deep is like which gasses we would use. 856 00:56:34,581 --> 00:56:35,414 Are we gonna-- 857 00:56:35,414 --> 00:56:36,533 At the safety meeting, 858 00:56:36,533 --> 00:56:38,826 there are worries that the dive is too risky. 859 00:56:40,493 --> 00:56:42,921 95 meters is a substantial dive 860 00:56:42,921 --> 00:56:45,983 and it calls a medic on board for any hurt 861 00:56:45,983 --> 00:56:47,336 damage people divers. 862 00:56:48,654 --> 00:56:51,693 And we have the safety divers that will also assist in this. 863 00:56:51,693 --> 00:56:53,990 If the safety divers are hovering in 20 864 00:56:53,990 --> 00:56:56,283 and the diver needs to be recovered from the bottom 865 00:56:56,283 --> 00:56:59,433 or assisted, what do we do between 60 and 20 meters? 866 00:56:59,433 --> 00:57:00,986 Yeah and that's-- That's the problem. 867 00:57:00,986 --> 00:57:03,303 It's a bit tricky in this kind of situation. 868 00:57:03,303 --> 00:57:06,373 The first thing here to do is just make the air breathing. 869 00:57:06,373 --> 00:57:09,773 Then we'll see and go up a little bit 870 00:57:09,773 --> 00:57:12,383 because even when you're full of helium 871 00:57:12,383 --> 00:57:15,176 if you go up so fast you bring body. 872 00:57:18,383 --> 00:57:19,753 You're talking about the diving equivalent 873 00:57:19,753 --> 00:57:20,912 of having had a heart attack 874 00:57:20,912 --> 00:57:23,735 driving a car a 70 miles an hour on a motorway. 875 00:57:23,735 --> 00:57:27,273 I'm mean, you know, it's easy death. 876 00:57:27,273 --> 00:57:30,663 If Jon Adams dives, and anything goes wrong, 877 00:57:30,663 --> 00:57:33,146 the entire expedition will be jeopardized. 878 00:57:40,520 --> 00:57:43,353 (uplifting music) 879 00:57:45,563 --> 00:57:47,686 It's the final year of the expedition. 880 00:57:48,573 --> 00:57:50,486 The team are back on the Black Sea. 881 00:57:51,533 --> 00:57:55,553 On a bigger boat in the quest to discover 882 00:57:55,553 --> 00:57:57,616 if there are even older shipwrecks. 883 00:58:02,133 --> 00:58:05,416 Sending the ROVs down to even deeper water. 884 00:58:07,370 --> 00:58:10,593 What's this, what's this? 885 00:58:10,593 --> 00:58:13,606 The team make a series of groundbreaking finds. 886 00:58:14,493 --> 00:58:17,296 Roman wrecks from the 2nd century A.D. 887 00:58:20,453 --> 00:58:23,636 More intact than any Roman ship ever found. 888 00:58:27,033 --> 00:58:29,603 A complete cargo of amphora still on the decks 889 00:58:29,603 --> 00:58:31,156 of the ship that carried it. 890 00:58:32,013 --> 00:58:33,250 I mean it's probably one of the most 891 00:58:33,250 --> 00:58:35,286 important shipwreck finds ever. 892 00:58:37,213 --> 00:58:39,663 And they discover a Greek ship 893 00:58:39,663 --> 00:58:41,533 that would have sailed these waters 894 00:58:41,533 --> 00:58:43,870 two and a half thousand years ago. 895 00:58:46,699 --> 00:58:49,282 (gentle music)