World Practice in the Study of Marine Depths
The study of underwater cities is an extremely difficult, often dangerous, and costly endeavor, and the scientific results obtained here are incomparably lower than those from excavations of settlements on land. Therefore, archaeologists very rarely undertake underwater work. In world practice of underwater archaeological research, preference is rightly given to the study of sunken ships. For example, many valuable items have been raised from ancient sunken ships in the Black and Mediterranean Seas, among which masterpieces of ancient sculpture stand out. Many ancient triremes, boats, galleys, and even very large ships have been raised from the depths and now adorn museums. After many years of work, on April 4, 1961, the flagship of the Swedish royal fleet, the frigate "Vasa," which sank on August 10, 1682, off the coast of Stockholm, was raised.
Currently, the museum where the frigate is displayed attracts over 400,000 visitors annually. The raising of sunken ships continues to this day. In the fall of 1986, a well-equipped Egyptian-French expedition in Abu Qir Bay, near Alexandria, was searching for the remains of Napoleon Bonaparte's fleet, sunk by Admiral Nelson in August 1798. Divers found and examined the flagship of the fleet, "Orient," and the scientific transport vessel "Patriot," which will be raised from the bottom and placed in a museum in Alexandria. One of the cannons, weighing two tons, raised from the "Patriot," was presented by the President of Egypt as a gift to the President of France and will be displayed at the École Polytechnique in Paris.
Large archaeological explorations of underwater cities can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Among the most successful studies is the investigation of "Pirate Babylon" — Port Royal in Jamaica, which in the last third of the 17th century became a home for slave traders, thieves, and fortune seekers — "gentlemen of fortune" of all kinds, including super-pirates like Kidd, Morgan, Mansfield, and others. The city's destruction was sudden and terrible: on June 7, 1692, around noon, three strong earthquakes occurred, after which a powerful ocean wave struck the shore. In just a few minutes, nine-tenths of the city, which had about 2,000 buildings, was submerged. Contemporaries considered this divine retribution. In 1966-1967, under the guidance of experienced marine archaeologist Robert F. Marx, systematic clearing was conducted at a site measuring 133x50 meters at a depth of 5 meters in the former city, which is less than 5 percent of the sunken part of Port Royal. Here, three preserved houses and the remains of two ships abandoned at the moment of the catastrophe by the giant wave were discovered. Additionally, archaeologists recovered about 20,000 iron items, 6,500 smoking pipes, 2,000 glass bottles, 500 silver and zinc vessels, and two large hoards of silver coins. However, it should not be forgotten that the research of Port Royal is not so much a scientific endeavor as a commercially self-sustaining enterprise. After all, no expenses will deter wealthy collectors eager to acquire underwater treasures! Another commercial project will also be implemented here.
The Jamaican government has approved a project to revive Port Royal, planned for 20 years. The ruins of the city, cleared of silt and sand, will be viewed from special boats with transparent bottoms.
In the Mediterranean Sea, ancient sunken ports such as Tyre (modern Sur), Sidon (Saida), Massilia (Marseille), and several others have been successfully studied. In Switzerland, Italy, and Germany, prehistoric settlements have been investigated, which, like those at Issyk-Kul, are located at the bottom of inland water bodies. In the territory of the former USSR, underwater excavations were conducted at the sunken part of ancient Greek Phanagoria and in some other places along the Black Sea coast.
In 1968, at the initiative of "Literary Newspaper," attempts were made to find even the legendary Lake Svetloyar and the city of Kitezh the Great at its bottom.
In all cases of researching underwater cities, archaeologists tried to use methods that had proven effective in land work, i.e., to transfer them to a different environment. Here, they encountered difficulties of various kinds. After all, not just ordinary workers are needed here, but well-trained divers. Their working time at depth is limited.
Moreover, work can be suspended at any time due to stormy weather and poor visibility. To organize the work, at a minimum, a specially equipped vessel is needed, instead of land shovels — an ejector or dredging apparatus, a tele-system with a towed underwater sealed chamber, and a helicopter for surveying the bottom at shallow depths. Of course, in the future, broader technical capabilities for underwater research will emerge. For example, the newspaper "Soviet Kyrgyzstan" on February 8, 1987, informed its readers that Finnish shipbuilders are constructing a submarine in which passengers will be seated along the sides at large portholes. Powerful searchlights will allow them to admire the underwater landscape of Lake Simonyarvi at depths of up to 100 meters.
We believe that in the future we will also be able to use the most modern specialized vessels and equipment. But that is in the future. Today, we only had divers at our disposal.
Considering our technical capabilities, at the first stage of work, we could only set the following scientific tasks:
1. Identification of locations in the lake where ancient settlements were located and determining their approximate areas.
2. Marking the locations of the most important finds using a buoy system. Plotting them on a map.
3. Collecting a collection of material culture items. Determining the chronology of settlements based on well-dated finds.
The most significant success of our work is the discovery of the settlement of Sarybulun, which functioned in the 1st millennium BC (ancient Chigu).
Trophies of Issyk-Kul