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NARRATOR: The Black Sea.
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Home to lost tales
of ancient mariners
that only now
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are coming into full view.
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DR DAVIS: It's like finding
a dinosaur with feathers.
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That's how rare it was.
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NARRATOR: What can a
surprising shipwreck reveal
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about the men who
ruled these waters
for a thousand years?
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DR BRENNAN: These
ships were feeding and
maintaining a whole empire.
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DR DAVIS: And it helps
turn the empire into one
of the greatest ever known.
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NARRATOR: How does a
glint of precious metal
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reveal a battle to decide
the fate of two empires?
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DR DAL: This event
changed naval warfare
all around the world.
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NARRATOR: And what
does a lost U-boat say
about Hitler's plans
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to build his own
empire here?
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Three mysteries.
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Three expeditions.
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One sea of secrets.
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DR DAVIS: The Black Sea
is filled with mystery.
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There's always been
warfare, strife and
battles taking place
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on or near the Black
Sea, contesting for
that territory.
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There are so many
connections to be made,
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but there's so little
evidence to go from.
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NARRATOR: Between
Europe and Asia six
countries crowd
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around the shores
of the Black Sea
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with just one small
outlet connecting it
to the world's oceans.
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The vessels that plied
these waters over
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a thousand years ago have
long been a mystery.
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Historians have only a
handful of descriptions
in ancient text.
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Finding an actual shipwreck
could change everything.
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DR DAVIS: In 2007 I
received an
invitation to come
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and take part in an
expedition to the Black Sea.
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And this was very exciting.
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DR BRENNAN: It's really
been kind of unexplored.
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And so only a handful of
expeditions have really
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done surveys looking for
shipwrecks in these waters.
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The Black Sea's right in
my first-year expeditions
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and so it's where I
started to learn
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the process of how we
locate ancient shipwrecks.
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NARRATOR: Archaeologists
have long suspected the
Black Sea
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could be hiding a
treasure trove of wrecks
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because of the unusual
properties of its water.
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DR DAVIS: Well the Black Sea
chemistry is unique because
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from about 600 ft all
the way down to the very
bottom of the Black Sea
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there is literally no
oxygen in the water,
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in the so called
Anoxic layer.
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Everywhere else shipwrecks
are not preserved,
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mostly because of a very
nasty little sea worm.
They eat everything.
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Meaning ships, rope, all of
the stuff that you would find
on an ancient wooden ship,
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usually gone everywhere
else except the Black Sea.
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NARRATOR: No-one had ever
searched for shipwrecks
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in the deepest layers of
the Black Sea until 2000.
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DR DAVIS: The explorer Robert
Ballard set out to explore
the bottom of the Black Sea,
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like it had never
been done before.
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DR BRENNAN: Dr. Ballard
is the world-renowned
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ocean explorer who
found Titanic in 1985.
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On his very first expedition
to the Black Sea no-one was
ready for what he would find.
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Ballard's expedition
found shipwrecks near
a town called Sinop.
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DR DAVIS: They found three
Sinop shipwrecks right
off the bat, A, B and C.
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They were in an area of the
Black Sea that only partially
preserved shipwrecks.
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And it was only, like
all archaeological
excavations are,
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on the last day at
the last minute
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that they decided to look
in deeper Anoxic waters
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and that's when
they found Sinop D.
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The team on the ship must
have been quite confused.
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They were looking at
multiple vertical timbers
sticking out of the mud,
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one of them quite large.
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And all of a sudden,
the realization must
have dawned on them
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this is an
ancient shipwreck.
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They saw structural
features that had never
before been seen intact
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on an ancient vessel.
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Only in illustrations.
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Prior to this shipwreck no
other ships had been found
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in the Anoxic layer
perfectly preserved.
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This meant that
archaeologists, for
the first time,
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could look at a shipwreck
in its full dimensionality
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and now there's nothing
we have to guess at.
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Sinop D was an
unprecedented find.
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It's like finding a
dinosaur with feathers,
that's how rare it was.
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But in 2000 all the team
could do was look
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at what they were
seeing on the seabed.
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They didn't know the
date of the ship.
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It could have been an
ancient Greek ship.
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It could have been Roman.
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It could have built
200 years ago.
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They just didn't know.
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There was an
obsession to go back.
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DR BRENNAN: How
old was the ship?
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Where was it sailing to?
Where was it coming from?
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A lot of these things
were still a mystery.
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NARRATOR: When Dan and Mike
join the 2007 expedition,
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they hope that new technology
will bring new answers.
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DR BRENNAN: The 2007
expedition was specifically
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designed for us to
spend a week really
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investigating this
wreck in depth.
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In these waters that
we're exploring it's way
too deep for scuba divers,
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so we need to use remotely
operated vehicles to get down
to those depths and get good,
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high quality video
of these sites.
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DR DAVIS: We had a
workhorse, state of the art,
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remotely operated
vehicle named Hercules
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that could help us explore
the wreck in multiple ways
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and take high definition video
of the entire operation.
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So, I remember this view
approaching Sinop D
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for the first time in 2007
and just being blown away.
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DR BRENNAN: And
here you have it,
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the well-preserved
wooden shipwreck, the
mast still standing.
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DR DAVIS: But the only one
we have. They're very rare.
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DR BRENNAN: And you've got
a piece of rope still
wrapped around the top
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which is unheard of.
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DR DAVIS: I saw the mast
for the first time and it
was a magic moment for me.
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It was emotional.
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NARRATOR: Hercules allows
the team to measure
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every inch of what's
left on the sea floor.
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Before they can figure
out the ship's purpose,
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they'll need to
analyses the wreck's
size, shape and design.
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DR DAVIS: What we find
is a 45-long ship.
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A single mast that probably
carried a square sail.
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There's no evidence
of decking in the
middle of the wreck,
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so we can assume
it's a cargo hold.
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And lucky for us there's
cargo still on board.
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Typically, when we
stumble upon an ancient
shipwreck the first clue,
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we look for is the cargo.
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Usually these clay
jars called amphoras.
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Amphoras carried everything.
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They carried olive oil,
they carried fish sauce,
they carried wine.
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DR BRENNAN: These
diagnostic amphoras
that can help us
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put a date on the wreck
and tell how old it is.
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DR DAVIS: Recovering an
artefact from a shipwreck
is not a simple process.
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They use a little
sucker that the ROV
put on the amphora
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to pick it up
without damaging it.
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So, they would move
it over to a net.
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Once we have artefacts in
these nets, we get it on board
as carefully as possible.
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Watching the ROV pilots
handle these artefacts
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and put them carefully
into these baskets
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and then send them up
to the surface is
really nerve-racking
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because we don't
want them damaged.
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NARRATOR: The hope is that
a close study of the clay
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jars will establish the
age of the shipwreck.
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DR MARANZANA: An amphora
holds a lot of information
about the ancient world.
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Amphoras can be dated quite
precisely because
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they're everywhere
and they are very
well studied.
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So, the amphoras can
be dated through their
physical characteristics.
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Normally the handles
and the neck,
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but also what we call
the foot, which is
the bottom part.
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People can compare
the new find with the
already studied one
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and establish a
quite precise date.
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So, for Sinop they
are fairly small.
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They are mostly
carrot shape and some
of them have grooves
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that go around the entire
body of the amphora.
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And so those are quite
distinctive characteristics
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that a give a clear
idea of the date
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when Sinop D was sailing
on the Black Sea.
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DR BRENNAN: The amphora that
we documented were dated to
the 5th and 6th centuries AD.
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We had never before had
a shipwreck that is 1500
years old in its entirety,
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preserved on the seabed.
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NARRATOR: The dates mean
Sinop D is sailing at the
tail end of the Roman Empire.
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What can it reveal
about a new power that's
rising to take its place?
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DR DAVIS: Now that we
knew what the date of
the ship was
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it was exciting
because Sinop D dates
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to this pivotal moment
in world history.
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NARRATOR: By the 5th
Century the once mighty
Roman Empire is crumbling,
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except in the east which
breaks away to create
the Byzantine Empire.
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It's capital no longer
Rome but the great
city of Constantinople,
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modern day Istanbul.
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DR MARANZANA: The choice
of Constantinople as the
capital is mostly
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because of its strategic
position.
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It was located in-between
the two continents, Asia
and Europe.
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It was by the sea so it
could easily transport
goods and troops.
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And so, Constantinople
at the time of the
Byzantine Empire
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became the largest
city in the world and
the most wealthy.
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NARRATOR: Constantinople's
wealth depends on Black
Sea ports like Sinop.
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And Sinop D may have
played a pivotal role
in Byzantine history.
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DR DAVIS: Now we had some
fundamental questions that
we needed answers for.
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Among them how does this ship
connect to the history of
the Byzantine Empire itself?
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How did it contribute to
the growth of the empire?
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NARRATOR: One way to
answer those questions is to
investigate the ship itself.
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DR DAVIS: The wreck
was so enticing,
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but the ship is so deeply
buried in sediment it was
giving up its mysteries
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with such great difficulty.
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We knew that we would
have to start excavating
the shipwreck.
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With Hercules now we had
the capability of removing
silt in large volumes.
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And exposing more
of its timbers.
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Oh yes! All the mud. Look
at this Black Sea mud.
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DR BRENNAN: Yeah. It's really
sticky and almost like Jell-O
the way it moves.
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DR DAVIS: I remember
just thinking, "What
a strange seabed."
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Never seen anything
like that before.
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Removing the silt was
a painstaking process.
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The upper layers
very easy to remove,
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but as we dug deeper into
the mud the more thick
the mud became
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and at that point our
work slowed way down.
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We managed to explore
a little bit of some
of the planking
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but we were not able to
dig as deep as we wanted
to unfortunately.
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We did not find anything
that would give away how
the ship was constructed.
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It was a disappointment.
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00:14:52,692 --> 00:14:57,061
NARRATOR: The Black
Sea's stubborn mud dashes
the expedition's hopes.
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00:14:57,097 --> 00:15:00,198
The secrets of Sinop
D remain unknown.
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00:15:08,642 --> 00:15:12,510
Then comes news of a
stunning archaeological
find.
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00:15:12,545 --> 00:15:17,015
One that reignites the
stalled investigation
into Sinop D.
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00:15:18,184 --> 00:15:20,518
DR BRENNAN: Since the
discovery of Sinop D in 2000,
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00:15:20,553 --> 00:15:22,520
what have we learned
about ship building?
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00:15:22,555 --> 00:15:25,823
DR DAVIS: We've been
really fortunate to
find this graveyard
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of shipwrecks in modern
day Istanbul, ancient
Constantinople.
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00:15:30,030 --> 00:15:33,965
The old harbour that
served the city was
buried in silt
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over the centuries and as
they were clearing it out
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to build a subway, they
found 37 ancient shipwrecks.
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Lucky for us the
discoveries in this harbour
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called Yenikapi all date
to the Byzantine period.
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00:15:50,450 --> 00:15:58,189
And what you see at Yenikapi
is an evolution of Black
Sea shipbuilding techniques.
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Sinop D is right there in
the 5th and 6th Century
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00:16:00,226 --> 00:16:04,495
which is about the midpoint
between those 37 wrecks
that were found.
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00:16:04,531 --> 00:16:08,900
Yenikapi provides all
the evidence for the
lower part of the ships
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00:16:08,935 --> 00:16:11,002
because their upper works
were not preserved.
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00:16:11,037 --> 00:16:17,041
Sinop D provides almost a
perfectly preserved example
of the top to the middle.
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00:16:17,077 --> 00:16:20,044
DR BRENNAN: Yeah.
DR DAVIS: So now we can
bring those two together
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00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:23,147
and get a full comprehensive
picture for the first time.
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00:16:24,918 --> 00:16:27,919
There was this
earlier tradition in
which shipwrights
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00:16:27,954 --> 00:16:31,255
lock planks together
edge to edge and then
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00:16:31,291 --> 00:16:35,360
they peg them together so
that they can't slide and
they can't come apart.
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00:16:35,395 --> 00:16:38,830
And then inserted
the skeleton to help
stiffen the hull.
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00:16:40,734 --> 00:16:43,668
And then there's this
later tradition, it
switched completely.
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00:16:43,703 --> 00:16:47,271
It's where you build
the frames or the ribs
of the ship first.
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00:16:47,307 --> 00:16:51,409
And then you plank it
all around it to
create the shell.
222
00:16:52,379 --> 00:16:58,282
Edge joinery is still
being used, but it's not
on the elaborate scale
223
00:16:58,318 --> 00:17:00,551
that we had in the
earlier tradition.
224
00:17:02,055 --> 00:17:06,190
So, the result is cheaper,
faster ship construction.
225
00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:09,260
Fewer people needed
in the shipyard.
226
00:17:09,295 --> 00:17:11,829
Fewer trained people.
Fewer skilled people.
227
00:17:11,865 --> 00:17:13,431
DR BRENNAN: And
probably less wood too.
228
00:17:13,466 --> 00:17:16,134
DR DAVIS: Less wood.
Cheaper. Faster.
DR BRENNAN: Yeah.
229
00:17:20,673 --> 00:17:23,775
DR DAVIS: Because of
the dates suggested
by those amphoras
230
00:17:23,810 --> 00:17:27,245
we now know that
Sinop D fits
231
00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:31,049
within this transition
between those two ship
construction techniques.
232
00:17:34,120 --> 00:17:36,220
So now we could piece
together all this evidence
233
00:17:36,256 --> 00:17:38,489
to finally see what's
under the mud
234
00:17:40,610 --> 00:17:43,261
and tell the full story
of Sinop D's life.
235
00:18:00,563 --> 00:18:02,530
Sinop D is a cargo vessel.
236
00:18:05,935 --> 00:18:07,201
A merchant ships.
237
00:18:08,538 --> 00:18:09,804
Filled with amphoras.
238
00:18:11,274 --> 00:18:15,676
It was likely trading
between the very prosperous
port city of Sinop
239
00:18:15,712 --> 00:18:18,079
and the capital city
itself, Constantinople.
240
00:18:18,114 --> 00:18:20,815
It might have even been
heading to the same harbour
241
00:18:20,850 --> 00:18:24,218
where that earlier
graveyard of shipwrecks
was found at Yenikapi.
242
00:18:29,325 --> 00:18:31,659
NARRATOR: The ability
to construct ships faster
243
00:18:31,694 --> 00:18:35,463
and cheaper is a game changer
for the Byzantine Empire.
244
00:18:37,767 --> 00:18:41,569
And the secret can be
seen in the Sinop D wreck.
245
00:18:44,474 --> 00:18:46,574
DR DAVIS: With this cheaper
way of building ships,
246
00:18:46,609 --> 00:18:49,744
a middle class emerges
who's able to buy the ship,
247
00:18:49,779 --> 00:18:52,313
captain the ship, act
as the merchant
248
00:18:52,348 --> 00:18:55,249
and actually create
their own wealth.
249
00:18:55,285 --> 00:19:00,655
So, in this sense the
Sinop D shipwreck is a
wealth creator.
250
00:19:00,690 --> 00:19:03,825
It's a type of economic
engine for the middle class.
251
00:19:06,830 --> 00:19:08,830
DR BRENNAN: I don't think
it's a coincidence that a
new type of shipbuilding
252
00:19:08,865 --> 00:19:13,334
starts to arise at the same
time that the Byzantine
Empire begins to flourish.
253
00:19:13,369 --> 00:19:17,772
These trading ships, like
Sinop D, were feeding and
maintaining a whole empire.
254
00:19:17,807 --> 00:19:20,975
And this is the beginning
of a long period
of lucrative trading.
255
00:19:22,512 --> 00:19:25,546
DR DAVIS: This was one of
many ships that helped
256
00:19:25,582 --> 00:19:27,949
generate the extreme
wealth of the empire.
257
00:19:27,984 --> 00:19:31,552
And it helped turn the
empire into one of the
greatest ever known.
258
00:19:54,944 --> 00:19:58,813
NARRATOR: Sinop continues
to be a key port along
the Black Sea
259
00:19:58,848 --> 00:20:01,649
long after the fall
of the Byzantines.
260
00:20:01,684 --> 00:20:04,752
And its waters
conceal other secrets.
261
00:20:18,635 --> 00:20:20,735
RASIM: I have lived
in Sinop all my life.
262
00:20:20,770 --> 00:20:24,372
And being underwater
is my passion.
263
00:20:26,576 --> 00:20:30,978
The Black Sea is as its name
suggests a black, dark sea.
264
00:20:33,783 --> 00:20:38,419
In other seas you see a
dark shade of blue
265
00:20:38,454 --> 00:20:42,123
but this blackness
of the Black Sea is
one worth seeing.
266
00:20:43,259 --> 00:20:45,793
The darkness really
fascinates me.
267
00:20:53,937 --> 00:20:56,537
NARRATOR: Yasar Tarakci
has been finding relics in
268
00:20:56,573 --> 00:21:00,541
Sinop harbour ever since he
started diving as a boy.
269
00:21:01,778 --> 00:21:07,548
He's found ancient Roman
and Byzantine artefacts
and even old canons.
270
00:21:07,584 --> 00:21:11,619
But one discovery proves to
be the find of a lifetime.
271
00:21:16,793 --> 00:21:20,928
RASIM: In the early
1980s, because I was
a professional diver,
272
00:21:20,964 --> 00:21:24,932
I was called by a local
fisherman to rescue
some snagged nets.
273
00:21:26,803 --> 00:21:31,706
During the dive I
couldn't see anything
because of the mud.
274
00:21:31,741 --> 00:21:36,777
But using our hands we
realized the nets were
covering an old ship.
275
00:21:43,052 --> 00:21:47,388
NARRATOR: The curious wreck
consumes Yasar for 40 years.
276
00:21:47,423 --> 00:21:51,459
What is this ship and
how did it end up on
the sea floor?
277
00:21:56,132 --> 00:22:00,301
RASIM: I dived the wreck
several times and could
see it was made of wood.
278
00:22:01,871 --> 00:22:04,338
I knew I wasn't looking
at a modern ship.
279
00:22:05,975 --> 00:22:08,342
It was well preserved
and in shallow water.
280
00:22:09,512 --> 00:22:11,545
That meant it
couldn't be ancient.
281
00:22:13,783 --> 00:22:16,150
That left open
the possibility
that this wreck
282
00:22:16,185 --> 00:22:19,387
could be something
from the time of
the Ottoman Empire.
283
00:22:24,193 --> 00:22:26,827
NARRATOR: During the
1300s the Ottomans
284
00:22:26,863 --> 00:22:30,464
wrest control of the Black
Sea from the Byzantines
285
00:22:31,067 --> 00:22:36,137
and here they build an
empire that lasts for
six centuries,
286
00:22:36,172 --> 00:22:40,107
creating one of the
largest and most feared
navies in the world.
287
00:22:43,146 --> 00:22:46,881
However, there's almost
no archaeological
evidence of it.
288
00:22:55,858 --> 00:22:58,826
DR DAL: There should be
many shipwrecks in Yenikapi
289
00:22:58,861 --> 00:23:01,429
but we don't have an
Ottoman's war ship.
290
00:23:09,605 --> 00:23:11,439
We know so many
things about the ship
291
00:23:11,474 --> 00:23:14,775
building activities and
traditions and complex
292
00:23:14,811 --> 00:23:23,417
in Ottoman Empire, but
we don't have an evidence
to show people that, yes,
293
00:23:23,453 --> 00:23:28,155
we got the correct
information or no, the
information was not correct.
294
00:23:28,191 --> 00:23:34,295
That's why shipwrecks
are so important for very
Ottoman naval historian.
295
00:23:35,531 --> 00:23:38,933
NARRATOR: One reason
the empire's warships
are missing today
296
00:23:38,968 --> 00:23:44,672
has to do with an Ottoman
tradition of dismantling
and recycling old vessels.
297
00:23:46,008 --> 00:23:48,909
Yasar's find is a
big surprise.
298
00:23:48,945 --> 00:23:53,781
He believes it's
Ottoman, but is it?
299
00:24:08,214 --> 00:24:11,348
NARRATOR: Dilara comes
to Sinop to meet Yasar.
300
00:24:13,252 --> 00:24:18,489
And to investigate the
shipwreck he's spent
decades deciphering.
301
00:25:06,973 --> 00:25:11,041
RASIM: Here you can see
the frames of the ship.
302
00:25:11,077 --> 00:25:13,177
They are made from oak.
303
00:25:15,214 --> 00:25:18,315
The beam is still stable
in its original position.
304
00:25:29,462 --> 00:25:31,629
And you can see
copper on the hull.
305
00:25:34,734 --> 00:25:37,334
Because the hull is
surrounded by copper
306
00:25:37,370 --> 00:25:41,071
and rot proof oak it
remained intact over time.
307
00:25:50,416 --> 00:25:55,452
DR DAL: He said that the
ship is covered by copper
308
00:25:55,488 --> 00:25:58,656
which is really, really
important for me. Why?
309
00:25:58,691 --> 00:26:04,228
Because this confirms the
wreck is from the time
of the Ottoman Empire.
310
00:26:07,233 --> 00:26:10,534
NARRATOR: Ottoman warships
relied on copper sheathing,
311
00:26:10,570 --> 00:26:13,404
an innovation to
protect wooden hulls,
312
00:26:13,439 --> 00:26:15,739
until the middle
of the 19th century.
313
00:26:19,211 --> 00:26:22,479
DR DAL: And now we have
a pivotal evidence.
314
00:26:22,515 --> 00:26:27,751
It really gives
a lot of richness to
Ottoman naval history.
315
00:26:35,261 --> 00:26:39,597
NARRATOR: It's now
clear that this is a
rare Ottoman warship.
316
00:26:39,632 --> 00:26:42,967
So now Yasar wants
to work out its name.
317
00:26:43,669 --> 00:26:46,937
Given its location he
thinks it may be a
leftover from one
318
00:26:46,973 --> 00:26:51,208
of the most famous
battles ever to take
place in the Black Sea.
319
00:26:54,714 --> 00:26:57,114
RASIM: I learned about
the Battle of Sinop
320
00:26:57,149 --> 00:27:00,851
from the oldest diver
in Sinop when I was
about 15 or 16.
321
00:27:04,090 --> 00:27:09,259
He told me about a shocking
attack on Ottoman ships
anchored in the harbour here.
322
00:27:09,295 --> 00:27:11,595
It killed nearly
3,000 people.
323
00:27:14,433 --> 00:27:18,702
NARRATOR: The Ottoman's
face a rival power, the
Russian Empire.
324
00:27:24,410 --> 00:27:29,947
And on November 30th,
1853, in a bid for Black
Sea supremacy
325
00:27:29,982 --> 00:27:34,918
the Russian navy smashes an
Ottoman fleet here in Sinop.
326
00:27:43,996 --> 00:27:47,731
The date tallies with
the age of Yasar's find.
327
00:27:50,503 --> 00:27:52,469
RASIM: To figure out the
identity of the wreck
328
00:27:53,539 --> 00:27:58,709
I turned to historical
sources created at the
time of the battle.
329
00:27:58,744 --> 00:28:04,515
These sources included
pictures and a very important
chart made by the Russians.
330
00:28:07,219 --> 00:28:11,555
This Russian chart
details the location of
each ship they destroyed.
331
00:28:35,614 --> 00:28:39,216
NARRATOR: Russian
sources suggest the
attack on Sinop harbour
332
00:28:39,251 --> 00:28:41,985
destroys 15
Ottoman vessels.
333
00:29:04,110 --> 00:29:06,076
RASIM: On the Russian
battle chart,
334
00:29:06,112 --> 00:29:10,013
I found one record that
explained the location
of the wreck I found.
335
00:29:10,750 --> 00:29:13,117
This is evidence it was
a victim of the battle.
336
00:29:22,027 --> 00:29:25,062
What's unexpected is that
the wreck is outside
337
00:29:25,097 --> 00:29:27,965
the harbour and not in
line with most of the
338
00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:30,534
other ships that
went down that day.
339
00:29:34,707 --> 00:29:39,409
NARRATOR: Yasar examines
a memoir written by a
survivor of the attack.
340
00:29:40,012 --> 00:29:43,747
It helps explain the
information on the
Russian battle chart.
341
00:29:44,917 --> 00:29:47,718
Russian guns had
crippled a vessel named
342
00:29:47,753 --> 00:29:51,555
the Nesim-I-Zafer leaving it
afloat but helpless.
343
00:30:24,140 --> 00:30:28,158
The story of Yasar's find
now comes into focus.
344
00:30:28,194 --> 00:30:31,862
Because the Nesim-i-Zafer
sank outside the harbour
345
00:30:31,897 --> 00:30:34,565
the Ottomans never
tried to salvage it,
346
00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:39,536
and the wreck remains
untouched for more
that 130 years.
347
00:30:45,744 --> 00:30:47,444
RASIM: We found
the Nesim-i-Zafer
348
00:30:47,479 --> 00:30:50,247
thanks to fishermen's
nets that landed on it.
349
00:30:50,983 --> 00:30:55,619
We couldn't have found
it otherwise since it
was 120 ft underwater.
350
00:31:00,559 --> 00:31:04,228
NARRATOR: The Black
Sea keeps a tight grip
on its secrets.
351
00:31:04,263 --> 00:31:09,333
But 300 miles west of Sinop
a 14-year-long quest casts
352
00:31:09,368 --> 00:31:13,971
light on a secret Nazi
plan for world domination.
353
00:31:24,216 --> 00:31:29,586
SELCUK: People come to me
to ask for my help to find
shipwrecks or identify them.
354
00:31:37,630 --> 00:31:41,999
I love the challenge of
finding a wreck that's
been lost to time,
355
00:31:42,034 --> 00:31:44,635
revealing something
new about our history.
356
00:31:52,811 --> 00:31:56,313
One of my most challenging
missions was back in 2006.
357
00:31:59,752 --> 00:32:04,755
I was asked to help find
a World War II German
submarine, the U-23.
358
00:32:06,892 --> 00:32:11,028
Incredibly the person
who contacted me was the
Commander himself,
359
00:32:11,063 --> 00:32:14,231
Rudolph Arendt, who
was 83 years old.
360
00:32:17,369 --> 00:32:20,270
I found this very
interesting.
361
00:32:20,306 --> 00:32:24,741
One of the most
fascinating stories of
the submarine warfare.
362
00:32:29,415 --> 00:32:31,748
I was lucky that I had
the first-hand account
363
00:32:31,784 --> 00:32:36,687
of the whole story of U-23
from the horse's mouth.
364
00:32:38,223 --> 00:32:43,293
I was determined to
find his U-boat and discover
exactly what happened to it.
365
00:32:55,908 --> 00:33:00,844
NARRATOR: Rudolph Arendt
takes Selcuk to the U-23's
last known location.
366
00:33:05,584 --> 00:33:10,120
He remembers that the
sub sank off the Black
Sea coast of Agva,
367
00:33:10,155 --> 00:33:12,322
60 miles east of Istanbul.
368
00:33:20,032 --> 00:33:25,102
Rudolph came to the Black Sea
as part of Hitler's desperate
war with the Soviet Union.
369
00:34:08,764 --> 00:34:12,749
By 1944 Germany is
losing to the allies.
370
00:34:14,186 --> 00:34:17,054
To stop U-boats from
falling into enemy hands
371
00:34:17,089 --> 00:34:20,290
Hitler's admirals issue
a dramatic order,
372
00:34:20,325 --> 00:34:24,828
telling Commanders
like Rudolph to sink
their own vessels.
373
00:34:25,464 --> 00:34:27,364
At the time he is only 21.
374
00:34:57,496 --> 00:35:01,565
Rudolph's memories provide
Selcuk with crucial evidence.
375
00:35:03,368 --> 00:35:07,671
SELCUK: When Rudolph
Arendt got the order to
scuttle his boat,
376
00:35:07,706 --> 00:35:13,510
he found a suitable
bay and left 25 of
his people there.
377
00:35:13,545 --> 00:35:21,318
He had told me that after
dropping his crew he took
out the submarine north,
378
00:35:21,353 --> 00:35:32,095
placed explosives then got
onto a small inflatable raft
and rowed back to his people.
379
00:35:34,967 --> 00:35:37,501
NARRATOR: The problem is
Rudolph doesn't remember
380
00:35:37,536 --> 00:35:40,470
exactly where he
scuttled his U-boat.
381
00:35:40,906 --> 00:35:43,807
But he does have one
invaluable memento.
382
00:35:45,344 --> 00:35:48,578
SELCUK: I was lucky
that Rudolph Arendt had
made a very nice
383
00:35:48,614 --> 00:35:51,381
sketch of the bay
seen from his
384
00:35:51,416 --> 00:35:54,784
submarine when he was
dropping his crew.
385
00:36:23,949 --> 00:36:28,685
We went from bay to
bay and eventually found
one matching the sketch.
386
00:36:29,588 --> 00:36:32,822
If this was the landing
point then we now needed
387
00:36:32,858 --> 00:36:35,959
to head north in the same
direction Rudolph sailed
388
00:36:35,994 --> 00:36:38,962
the U-23 before
scuttling it.
389
00:36:40,899 --> 00:36:43,867
NARRATOR: Selçuk looks
for the submarine with
a side-scan
390
00:36:43,902 --> 00:36:47,904
sonar capable of mapping
large areas of the seabed.
391
00:36:49,107 --> 00:36:54,344
SELCUK: We searched all
this area north of this bay.
392
00:36:54,379 --> 00:36:58,815
But we couldn't find
anything. We couldn't
find a wreck.
393
00:37:02,254 --> 00:37:06,089
NARRATOR: The 2006
survey ends with the
final resting place
394
00:37:06,124 --> 00:37:09,025
of Rudolph's U-boat
still a mystery.
395
00:37:10,996 --> 00:37:14,264
SELCUK: But I assured him
that I would be carrying
396
00:37:14,299 --> 00:37:18,368
on with the search after
he went back home.
397
00:37:20,272 --> 00:37:26,409
After 2006 I was there
several times, but I
never found anything.
398
00:37:29,648 --> 00:37:34,618
Years later I applied to
the navy to look for it
399
00:37:34,653 --> 00:37:37,988
with their much more
sophisticated sonars
400
00:37:38,523 --> 00:37:44,427
and in 2019 they called
me to say that they had
found something
401
00:37:44,463 --> 00:37:47,464
with their multi-beam
sonar in that area
402
00:37:47,499 --> 00:37:50,333
where they have been
looking for the U-23
403
00:38:04,733 --> 00:38:10,270
is a huge break in the
now nearly 14-year-long
hunt for U-23.
404
00:38:12,541 --> 00:38:17,177
And ROV descends into the
Black Sea for a closer look.
405
00:38:21,516 --> 00:38:25,318
Could this finally be
Rudolph's missing U-boat?
406
00:38:40,502 --> 00:38:45,538
SELCUK: The wreck has a list
of 90, so it's practically
lying on her starboard side.
407
00:39:04,059 --> 00:39:05,258
The two periscopes.
408
00:39:12,034 --> 00:39:14,868
And then three torpedo
tubes at the bow.
409
00:39:17,673 --> 00:39:19,806
This is a very
distinctive shape.
410
00:39:19,841 --> 00:39:24,878
Definitely a submarine and
no other submarine in history
was ever lost in that area.
411
00:39:26,314 --> 00:39:30,350
There's no doubt, through the
dimensions this is the U-23.
412
00:39:33,188 --> 00:39:38,358
NARRATOR: Selçuk concludes
the wreck is a class of
U-boat called a Type 2B.
413
00:39:40,162 --> 00:39:43,029
A smaller model than
typical Nazi U-boats,
414
00:39:43,065 --> 00:39:47,467
they offered a solution to
a major obstacle of the
Black Sea attack plan.
415
00:39:49,905 --> 00:39:53,940
REPORTER: Throughout
World War II Turkey,
protecting her neutrality,
416
00:39:53,975 --> 00:39:58,211
cut off all passage
of warships to and
from the Black Sea.
417
00:40:00,315 --> 00:40:05,185
NARRATOR: Because they can't
sail in Hitler orders that six
of the smaller type U-boats
418
00:40:05,220 --> 00:40:11,057
be dismantled and
transported overland from
Germany 2,000 miles
419
00:40:11,093 --> 00:40:14,127
via road and river to
the Black Sea.
420
00:40:15,197 --> 00:40:19,599
None of the six
U-boats, however, will
ever make it back home.
421
00:40:27,709 --> 00:40:34,247
Questions now turn to what
state the U-23 is in 75
years after it went down.
422
00:40:43,024 --> 00:40:48,328
Selcuk shares the news
with Rudolph, who's
now 96 years old.
423
00:41:42,751 --> 00:41:48,221
Despite setting three
charges Rudolph only recalls
seeing one explosion.
424
00:42:21,857 --> 00:42:25,058
Selcuk plans to dive the
length of the wreck,
425
00:42:25,093 --> 00:42:28,228
looking for clues to
confirm which of the three
426
00:42:28,263 --> 00:42:31,197
explosive charges
sank the submarine.
427
00:42:40,709 --> 00:42:43,576
SELCUK: We will swim all
along the submarine
428
00:42:43,612 --> 00:42:47,180
and then I would like
to find where Rudolph
429
00:42:47,215 --> 00:42:49,983
Arendt told me he had
put the explosives.
430
00:42:58,093 --> 00:43:01,828
NARRATOR: There's no
outward sign of damage on
the front of the sub,
431
00:43:02,664 --> 00:43:04,197
or near the periscope.
432
00:43:07,836 --> 00:43:10,570
As Selcuk moves
toward the stern.
433
00:43:13,174 --> 00:43:18,561
SELCUK: There's an opening
of about 2 ft x 2 ft with
the skin sheets burned out.
434
00:43:23,018 --> 00:43:26,386
This confirms to me that
this is the only explosion
435
00:43:26,421 --> 00:43:30,156
out of the three
that succeeded in
sinking the U-23.
436
00:43:38,533 --> 00:43:43,336
Having researched this ship
for more than 14 years
437
00:43:43,371 --> 00:43:51,644
it meant a lot to me
when I saw the wreck and
that it was the U-23.
438
00:43:51,680 --> 00:43:53,846
It was an emotional
moment for me.
439
00:43:57,552 --> 00:44:02,422
Of course, this all will
mean a lot more to Rudolph
than it means to all of us.
440
00:44:08,029 --> 00:44:14,067
NARRATOR: The Black
Sea has only just begun
to give up its secrets.
441
00:44:14,102 --> 00:44:19,439
many more lay hidden on
its inky waters waiting
to be discovered.
442
00:44:23,345 --> 00:44:24,143
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