The Mill is the nickname I have for the shipwreck site here at Novy Svet. The entire seafloor is composed of small to medium rocks; sometimes there is a 20-40 cm covering of sand, but the thick stony layer always lurks beneath. Combined with the rough tidal action caused by the sites proximity to the shore and mouth of the bay and the currents that sweep over the site, the seafloor becomes a mill for artifacts and vessel remains. Most of our reconnaissance and excavation zones are full of fragmented wood as well as pottery sherds, gnashed to shreds by the sea’s stony teeth.
Luckily, many larger fragments and artifacts have escaped destruction through fortunate placement next to larger, protective boulders and features. The trench I opened on the 21st was just such a zone, and some very interesting stratigraphy was uncovered. In the photo below, you can see wood, pottery, organic material and what I believe is ash lying together in situ.
What appears to be a nicely preserved, though rather nondescript bowl in the left half of the above photo proved to be a beautiful piece of 13th century workmanship! (Update -October 15th, 2011: archaeologists at the University of Kiev have just matched this bowl with its missing base, recovered during the 2007 excavation season).
While the 5 minutes we spend at our safety stop don’t warrant books or other amusements, they do provide the leisure to snap a few photographs. The following photos show my daily safety stop view of where I have come from and where I am going!
