In 2005 the Hellenic Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities, a department within the Greek Ministry of Culture, invited a team from WHOI and MIT to survey an ancient shipwreck in the Aegean Sea. Partnered with the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), the international team used the WHOI SeaBED Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) to document the wreck with digitial still cameras and a high resolution mapping sonar. The team was based on the Greek research vessel AEGAEO, operated by HCMR.
The goals of the project were to experiment with and demonstrate advanced technologies, to develop archaeological methods with those technologies, and to build a solid international partnership among the scientists involved. The primary data products we hoped to deliver included a two-dimensional photomosaic of the shipwreck, and a precise bathymetric map of the site.
The shipwreck chosen for this experimental project dates to the late Classical period, the 4th century B.C. This was one of the most influential eras in human history. The Classical Greeks' lasting contributions to modern civilization included beautiful artwork and architecture, philosophy, complex mathematics, and democracy. At the time when this ship met its fate in the Aegean, Plato might have still been alive in Athens; Socrates had taken his famous last draught within living memory.
The wreck site is located between the islands of Chios and Oinousses in the eastern Aegean Sea, and was discovered during a 2004 sonar survey by HCMR scientists and Ephorate archaeologists. The wreck is too deep for conventional SCUBA diving, but shallow enough so that some ambient sunlight reaches the sea floor. The ship was a merchantman, carrying a mixed cargo including olive products from Chios and perhaps wine. The ceramic transport containers, called amphoras, are the most visible remains of the shipwreck.
Over two calendar days the AUV performed four missions on the Classical site, repeatedly mapping and imaging the wreck. After completing the survey of the Classical wreck, the team moved on to inspect the remains of a 19th century A.D. warship near Chios Town harbor. The HCMR remotely operated vehicle collected video imagery of the wreck’s scattered remains. The team then moved to the west coast of Chios, where we used the AUV to survey a late Hellenistic wreck.
The Chios project showcased the efficiency of robotic underwater survey. In a single three-hour dive, SeaBED’s multibeam sonar completely mapped the Classical wreck while the digital camera simultaneously collected thousands of high-resolution images. Later in the same day the team assembled those images into photomosaic strips, giving the archaeologists their first overall views of the wreck. Successive AUV missions on the Classical site provided photographs of the wreck from different angles, helping us see more details in the artifacts.
The Classical wreck was beyond diver depth, but these methods and technical systems are just as effective in shallow water. By using this technology, diving archaeologists will be freed from mundane measuring and sketching tasks, and instead can concentrate on the things people do better than robots: excavation and data interpretation.
Archaeological interpretation of the Chios wrecks commenced as soon as the first images were brought to the surface, and will continue for months after the cruise. Project archaeologists are integrating the Chios wreck into the broader history of the fourth century B.C. Aegean world (see Chios bibliography for further reading). The team presented its preliminary results at the November 2005 American Schools of Oriental Research conference in Philadelphia. The first major peer-reviewed article has now been published in Hesperia, the quarterly journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. The article is available as a pdf for download here. High-resolution images of the shipwreck and photomosaic are included in the article.