A late update to the blog, but better late than never!

With the departure of the STS Bodrum the remaining crew piled onto the Virazon, and as we were raising anchor and making preparations to leave, the regular routine continued.

The remaining crew prepare to dive as the STS Bodrum raises anchor and sails back to Bodrum. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

STS Bodrum's final view of Virazon and Millawanda at Cape Gelidonya. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.

Yaşar Yıldız and Dr. Harun Özdaş with the free pithos base. Photograph by Özgün Başıbüyük.

Shortly after the departure of the majority of the crew, the remaining project members concentrated on freeing the pithos base and surrounding pottery fragments from the base of the Boulder. We had been very careful not to damage the pottery itself over the course of the summer by delicately chipping away at the surrounding concretion, and had managed to free the majority of the concretion surrounding the pithos, with the remaining concretion forming a pedestal underneath. Dr. Özdaş therefore determined that by using a long pry-bar, he should be able to pop the pithos base off the rocks below without damaging it. As you can see in the photo, it worked like a charm, and made further work in the area much more accessible, allowing them to remove the rest of the pottery.

Captain Ali, Dr. Harun Özdaş and John Littlefield stack airlifts on the deck of the Millawanda. Photograph by Dr. Furkan Yıldırım.

Following the removal of the pottery from the base of the Boulder, the last dives concentrated on cleaning up the site, and removing all the equipment we had left on the bottom, including the pieces to the ‘telephone booth,’ the airlift pipes and hoses, survey markers, datum stakes, and a few tools scattered about. With the Millawanda moored directly over the site, cleanup was a straightforward endeavour as everything could be easily raised by divers using lift balloons, and then loaded onto the Millawanda. Heavier items were raised onto the boat with the winch.

Living conditions on the Virazon were a bit cramped following the STS Bodrum's departure. Photograph by John Littlefield.

Of course, without the STS there, conditions were a little crowded for the last few days of the project – but it isn’t the first, and certainly won’t be the last time the Virazon was loaded with people and equipment.

Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology director Yaşar Yıldız and his daughter Ceren aboard the Millawanda. Photograph by John Littlefield.

The material recovered from the site this summer now resides in Bodrum. But of course, this is not the end of their journey, as in the months and years ahead, conservators with the Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology and archaeologists with the Institute of Nautical Archaeology will stabilize, conserve, and study the material. Eventually, the artifacts will be on display in the museum, and a final report on the Cape Gelidonya site will be prepared by Drs. Bass, Hirschfeld, and Özdaş with contributions from many others, to tells the story of the ship that met its demise on the rocky slopes of Turkey’s southern coast 3250 years ago.

In the meantime, look for updates on the project in forthcoming issues of the INA Quarterly and INA Annual.

Lastly, here are some miscellaneous videos from the summer: