Cape Gelidonya Project Blog

Two ships, that is, with the departure of STS Bodrum and more than half of the Cape Gelidonya crew on August 18^th.  In the final week of work, we tried to get as much work done as possible, and made a great deal of progress: perfect timing, considering the season is almost over!

In archaeological news, the area we call the “Platform” was finished first. We had divided the Platform into four quadrants, NE, SE, SW, and NW, excavated primarily by Kim Rash, Emre Savaş, Dr. Nilhan Kaser, and Haley Streuding, respectively. The Platform was a productive area during the 1960 excavation, having yielded a concentration of copper and tin ingots, some pottery, and one weight in the center of the Platform. This season, the Platform again proved an area abundant in artifacts, especially the SE quadrant, closest to the center of the wreck distribution, but also in the SW and NE quadrants.  Due to issues with publication rights, we can not publish artifact photographs,  detailed descriptions, and updated siteplan on the blog, but we can say that copper, tin, ceramic, and stone artifacts were recovered from the Platform area this summer.

Site Plan - Adapted from the original site plan published in the 1967 report to the American Philological Association. In reality, the areas covered by each archaeologist are larger, but could not quite fit on the original site map.

The completion of excavation at the Platform freed the westernmost airlift, and it was thus repositioned at the entrance to the Gully, between the Boulder and the island slope. Previously, the Gully was inaccessible to airlifts, so excavation has been on a halt there since mid-July. While John Littlefield finished the last of his area between the Platform and the Gully, Ryan Lee began excavating the few sandy pockets in the central section of the Gully, with moderate success.   Meanwhile, Ania Kotarba-Morley had finished her area on the opposite side of the Boulder, and began exploring the nooks and crevasses of the Boulder for small artifacts, and Sheila Matthews, Dr. Nicolle Hirschfeld, and Dr. Harun Özdaş were wrapping up their own sections further east, in areas we call ‘The Alley’ and ‘The Valley.’

A typical scene aboard Millawanda. Left to right: Dr. Furkan Yıldırım, Emre Savaş, Dr. Harun Özdaş, Emre Okan, Özgün Basıbüyük, Captain Ali, Ania Kotarba-Morley, Orkan Köyağasıoğlu, John Littlefield, Dr. Nilhan Kaser, and Matthew P. Dames. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

At the same time, photographer Susannah H. Snowden kept busy with site and artifact photography. As each day passed, increasingly fewer dives remained for her to get the key shots she has wanted all summer. Despite several tries earlier in the summer, we had only been able to send divers down with powerful underwater electric lights run on long cords from the Millawanda once due to problems with the current. Finally, late in the season, everything came together and Susannah was able to have the lights again and get the shots Gully she had been after all summer.

Susannah H. Snowden prepares to dive. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

Photographer Susannah H. Snowden prepares to dive. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

Marilyn Cassedy and Emre Okan continued their work in the eastern end of the Gully, attempting to chisel free a concentration of ceramic vessels completely concreted over, including the pithos base, a jug discovered next to it, and numerous as-yet-identified sherds. As work progressed and more and more of the vessels were revealed, work became increasingly more difficult, as the remaining concretion was harder to reach with chisels. With time winding down in the summer, it became uncertain whether or not we were going to be able to free the pottery before the end of the summer, so as archaeologists finished their sections, they were reassigned and added to the chiselling team. Soon, Marilyn and Emre were joined by Kim Rash, Haley Streuding, Emre Savaş, Dr. Nilhan Kaser, Matthew P. Dames, and Dr. Nicolle Hirshfeld. Dives were restructured to keep the chiselling to a maximum, and to avoid crowding in the tight area.

Marilyn Cassedy and Sheila Matthews before their final dive together. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

Marilyn Cassedy and Sheila Matthews ready to dive. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

With so many divers working together in a small area, conversation became much more animated between dives aboard the Millawanda. Everyone was very excited to see the pottery come up, with an understanding for the need to be extremely cautious so as to not accidentally damage anything valuable while chiseling. As each chisel team surfaced, they would brief the next team on their progress. Flexibility was key, as the plan of attack had to be constantly changed as new areas to chisel were opened up, and others finished.

Dr. Nicolle Hirschfeld and John Littlefield after a dive. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

A tank sits waiting to be charged in front of the Joy Compressor. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

Overall, we were constantly amazed at how much more efficiently we worked as a team compared to a mere month ago at the beginning of the project. With dwindling time, there was a real sense of urgency to work as efficiently as possible. Each dive team knew exactly what they were going to be doing and how long it might take before they jumped in. Meanwhile, everyone by then was fully aware of what duties were to be performed between dives aboard the Millawanda and pitched in, making for a very well-oiled machine.

Ania Kotarba-Morley charges tanks. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

Haley Streuding checks her air supply before her dive. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

Haley Streuding and Emre Savaş suit up. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

John Littlefield sends Haley Streuding and Emre Savas down. Photograph from Ryan C. Lee.

Even engine trouble was not enough to slow us down. When one of Millawanda’s engines (and generator) were out of commission one morning, we planned our dives around not having airlifts for several hours, or the ability to charge tanks, and were not hampered in the slightest. Thankfully, the issue was not major and repairs were affected in the field.

Matthew Dames observing the engine repairs. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

John Littlefield and Orkan Köyağasıoğlu rig a new shotline. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

Even the weather managed to cooperate for the most part during the final push. While we were forced to cancel a day due to bad current and waves, we were able to put in full days every other day until the departure of the STS. We were surprised to discover our shot line missing one morning, which formerly ran from the Telephone booth to a pulley on the bottom of the trapeze, and back down to 30 lbs of weight suspended above the seabed. Apparently, the swells were so bad one night that the Telephone Booth was dragged a few feet  by the shot line, which subsequently snapped. It caused a small delay the next morning to re-rig the shotline, and was particularly vexing to those who had been using the Phone Booth as a datum to measure from, especially Orkan Köyağasıoğlu , whose excavation area surrounded the Phone Booth.

Orkan Köyağasıoğlu and John Littlefield. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

John Littlefield and Dr. Nicolle Hirschfeld aboard Millawanda. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

Virazon sailor Burak Kutur and STS Bodrum captain Umit Akar lounging under the shade canopy aboard STS Bodrum. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

Virazon sailor Burak Kutur lounges aboard the Virazon. Photograph by John Littlefield.

While the current stayed acceptable, the temperature soared throughout mid-August, and frequently threatened to hit 40°C. We all took particular care to keep hydrated, and stay in the shade or the air conditioning as much as possible, which was rapidly overtaxed by two many bodies. During the final push to wrap up as much as possible, it became increasingly important for the archaeologists to keep detailed dive logs, take photographs, and write reports detailing the work done in their areas. There was of course still a bit of time left for an after-lunch card game or three, one of our favourite leisure activities this season (be it Uno, Old Maid, Hearts, Spades, Gin Rummy, or an inappropriately named but very fun seven-letter game beginning with ‘A.’)

Marilyn Cassedy, Haley Streuding, Kim Rash, and Matthew P. Dames play gin rummy aboard STS Bodrum. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

Apart from the heat, another increasingly annoying nuisance of the past couple weeks has been plague of biting flies that has descended upon our small fleet. While looking innocuous enough, these small black flies take particular delight in biting us painfully on our ankles, even through our dive socks. Luckily, they are somewhat slow, but no matter how many we swatch each day, their numbers seem fully replenished by the next.

Our nemesis - the biting fly! Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

Ryan Lee aboard the Millawanda. Photograph by John Littlefield.

Ania Kotarba-Morley timekeeping. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

Marilyn Cassedy opens the last package of Kremali dive cookies. A summer of chiseling has taken its toll on Marilyn's hands, perhaps ruining dreams of becoming a hand model. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

Cihat Vural assembles his gear. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

Cihat Vural and Dr. Nilhan Kaser prepare to dive. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

Cihat Vural and Dr. Nilhan Kaser. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

Emre Okan and Dr. Furkan Yıldırım. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

Project conservator Kim Rash hosts a show-and-tell of the seaon'ss finds aboard the Virazon. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

Finally, with a last-ditch herculean effort to get the pithos out before the STS Bodrum departed with half the team, we ran six dive teams on August 17th, beating our previous record of six. Despite it all, the pithos and jug remained firmly concreted in the Gully by the time we left. However, we are hopeful that the reduced crew left aboard the Virazon will be able to keep making process, and hopefully raise them before the end of the month. So, while eight team members have departed to return to their respective homes and institutions, a select few remain to finish the remaining tasks, and wait for the submersible Carolyn to arrive, which they will use to explore further from the wreck site in an attempt to locate more stone anchors, with the help of Yaşar Yıldız who recently arrived from his position as director of the Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology.

Hopefully we will receive a positive report from the remaining team soon regarding the pithos and other pottery. Good news or bad, the blog will be updated when we know more!

Dr. Harun Özdaş and Yaşar Yıldız plan their dive aboard the Millawanda. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

STS Bodrum at dawn. Photograph by John Littlefield.

Virazon captain Zafer Gül at his station in the wheelhouse. Photograph by John Littlefield.

Cape Gelidonya. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

Cape Gelidonya. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.