An archaeological expedition undertakes recovery

Professor Michael Katsev, leader of the team of archaeologists who undertook the recovery of the ship, says: "We came to Cyprus in 1967 at the invitation of the Director of Antiquities Dr. V. Karageorgis. Our aim and hope was to find a shipwreck near the coast of Cyprus. Previously, a team including myself, from the University of Pennsylvania under George Bass had raised three ships: one from the end of the Bronze Age, l2th century B.C, the time of the Trojan War, one from the Roman period, 4th century A.D, and a Byzantine one of the 7th century A.D.
When we came to Cyprus we were hoping to find shipwrecks of a period between the Late Chalcolithic Age and the Roman period, i.e a wreck of the Classical or Hellenistic period. We searched the coasts and found several shipwrecks but our most important "discovery" was when we met Andreas Kariolou from Kyrenia. He was kind enough to take us to the place of the wreck and as soon as we saw it we realized from its age how valuable it was.


In October 1967 we made a reconnaissance of the wreck and determined its size and cargo. We ascertained from the type of amphorae, which originally contained wine, that it sank around the end of the 4th century B.C., at the time of Alexander the Great or shortly after his death. With this information, which indicated that the wreck was unique of its kind, we returned to the United States and began to look for sponsors.
The importance of the discovery was immediately appreciated and so we managed to secure enough money to return to Cyprus and set about raising the ship. First of all we had to find the crew. We were, again, very lucky because there were many who offered to work as volunteers. The group was made up of members from 12 countries. Among them there were doctors, engineers,photographers and others who possessed the experience and expertise needed for the operation. At the end of spring 1968 we returned to Kyrenia with a group of 40 persons and considerable equipment. In June we started work on the recovery of the boat."

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Monday, May 27, 1996 11:59:56 PM