BTA: Divers recovered cannons from a 200-year-old shipwreck in the Black Sea

A rescue mission just before Christmas, on 23 December, recovered two cannons and dozens of ammunition more than 200 years old from the seabed off Bulgaria's northern Black Sea coast. The team from the Centre for Underwater Archaeology (CUA), led by Nadine Prakhov, successfully completed the 30-hour mission despite the icy waters, low visibility and complex logistics required.

This mission was part of a project that the Center had been studying jointly with the National History Museum for a long time. Prahov spotted the weapons on a dive he made in 2021 but it wasn't until late 2022 and thanks to the support of the Ministry of Culture that the artifacts found in the wreck were recovered and transported to the museum. The divers were also assisted by the head of the Historical Museum of Cavarna as well as the border police.

It was literally the end of December when the team went to the site where they knew the wreck was located, recorded the cannons again with photogrammetry and cameras and then retrieved them from the seabed. This was done with a fishing boat equipped with a crane, which lifted the heavy cannons out of the water, Prakhov told BTA. He estimates that each of them weighs 350-400 kilograms.

At archaeological exhibitions organised by the National Institute of Archaeology in cooperation with the museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in early 2022, Prakhov said it was probably only a matter of time before the cannons were stolen and sold, as has already happened with dozens of others along the Black Sea coast. Divers told archaeologists that at least 80 such cases have been recorded since the 1990s and the fate of these items is unknown. Prakhov added that the two from Kaliakra are among the few remaining.

Based on a first analysis, the cannons date from the late 18th to early 19th century. They were part of the armament of a three-oared warship that sank, under unknown circumstances, north of Cape Kaliakra. The exact location of the wreck is classified.

In addition to underwater research and recovery of the cannons from the Black Sea seabed, the project also includes radiographic research and conservation of the wreck remains at the Central Conservation and Restoration Laboratory of the National History Museum.

The cannons and other objects found on board will be exhibited in the museum in 2023, thus expanding its collection. The national museum already has the largest collection of anchors in the country. The latest maritime finds mark the beginning of a collection of artifacts from Western European, Russian and Turkish ships found on the seabed of the Black Sea.