Gaming Journal - The Oldest Boats

Explorers find ancient boat in Black Sea
Vessel discovered by fishermen trailing nets along the sea bottom

From the Associated Press
Source: MSNBC
updated 9:19 a.m. PT, Sat., Nov . 29, 2008

SOFIA, Bulgaria - A well-preserved wooden dugout canoe, likely dating back to the prehistoric age, has been discovered at the bottom of the Black Sea, scientists said Saturday. The vessel was discovered by fishermen trailing nets along the sea bottom some 15 miles off the coast, said Dimitar Nedkov, head of the Archaeological Museum in the port city of Sozopol. "The dugout is 8.5 feet long and 27.5 inches wide, and it is made most probably of oak," Nedkov said. Bulgarian explorers have found 4 ancient vessels in remarkably good condition in the Black Sea, whose oxygen-depleted deep water preserves wrecks without the worm damage and deterioration that normally affects wooden vessels. "Nowhere else can you find similar dugouts, as well as any kind of wooden vessels over 300 years old, because water rots the wood away," Dimitrov said. "In the Black Sea, however, there is dissolved hydrogen sulfide below a certain depth which preserves all organic materials."

Ancient Boat
Source:AGI
Archeology: 8000 year-old Pirogue found in Lake Bracciano

(AGI) - Rome, Italy, Aug 1 - An 8,000 year-old pirogue was found in Lake Bracciano, in the area of the neolithic village La Marmotta. "It's an exceptional example of ancient ship engineering, which proves the advanced knowledge of the peoples who lived here in 6000 BC" say the archaeologists who made the discovery, of the Prehistoric Museum 'Luigi Pigorini' in Rome. More than 10m long, made out of a single oak trunk, the pirogue was still being made when it was abandoned for reasons we still don't know. It was found at a depth of 10 metres. The boat will be displayed in late September, at the town hall of Anguillara Sabazia. Research at La Marmotta is being carried out by a team led by Maria Antonietta Fugazzola, with the cooperation of Lazio's archaeology superintendence. (AGI) -

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