Thousands of years ago, a giant deluge of water from the Mediterranean Sea crashed against the Turkish coast, wiping out villages and possibly killing thousands. Houses and possessions disappeared under the massive cataclysmic floodwaters, which later became the Black Sea.
But last week, a team of scientists and archeologists across the globe unearthed what appears to be a remnant of one of these Turkish coastal civilizations on the dark and lifeless floor of the Black Sea.
With the aid of an underwater robot, the team, led by undersea explorer and Titanic discoverer Robert Ballard and Harvard University archaeologist Lawrence Stager, could see a well-preserved wood and clay structure, among other remnants, under more than 300 feet of water.
The relics, found 12 miles off the coast of Turkey, are said to be surprisingly intact, especially for artifacts that have been sitting on the bottom for so long.
"What's curious about the Black Sea is that it's very deep," says History Prof. Thomas Noble, who wasn't involved in the exploration, but, like many scientists, is very excited by its potential. "It's anaerobic, so after 100 feet it's incapable of sustaining life. So it's easy to preserve things because nothing disturbs it."
Because there is no oxygen at the bottom, aerobic organisms such as wood-boring mollusks that would normally feed on wooden structures cannot exist.
To be able to view the artifacts in such a harsh environment, the team used a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) called Argus, an underwater sled-like robot with video cameras, lights, an electronic still camera and a scanning sonar device. With the aid of another ROV called Little Hercules, the scientists and researchers were able to inspect the structure more closely, noticing its wooden beams and branches.
The expedition, sponsored by the National Geographic Society and other organizations, is just one of many recent explorations off the coastal waters of northern Turkey to search for signs of human habitation at the time of a flood.
There has long been much speculation about the formation of the Black Sea. Environmental Sciences Prof. Steve Macko, who teaches organic geochemistry, said the flood theory is very plausible.
"One of the hypotheses is that there was this inundation of water," Macko said. "It was very clear that there was an event, perhaps a tectonic event, that caused a change that resulted in the formation of the waters of the Black Sea."
A recent book, "Noah's Flood," by Dr. William B. F. Ryan and Dr. Walter C. Pitman, first suggested the salty Black Sea originated when melting European glaciers swamped a small freshwater lake in a flood so fast that populations had no time to flee.
The exploration team, following this assumption, went searching for remnants of any villages that may have been left behind when the flood came.
The team had collected sediment and shell samples for Carbon-14 dating to prove that the Black Sea was once a freshwater lake about 7,500 years ago. But since C-14 dating is not accurate when done with marine life, the team hopes to use a sample of wood from the recently found barn remnant to pinpoint the timing of this flood.
One way to determine whether a flood actually occurred is to analyze the sediments at the bottom of the Black Sea.
"A flood would cause sediments to deposit all at once," Assoc. Environmental Sciences Prof. Patricia Wiberg said. "There are several techniques used to date sediments. One is Carbon-14 dating. Carbon-14 dating is used to date geographical periods. We can find out what environments were like by looking at the sediments, specifically, how they moved and where they deposited."
Such findings would dispel the theory that the Black Sea was formed by a gradual rise in water as opposed to a torrential flood.
Stories of a great flood have captivated people's imaginations for thousands of years. Some believe a great flood inspired the Biblical story of Noah in which for 40 days and 40 nights, the passengers aboard Noah's boat braved a huge flood.
Still, it is too early to tell if the recent findings may in fact be remnants of a great flood. Some continue to believe it was not a flood, but gradually rising water levels that formed the Black Sea.
Religious Studies Chairman Harry Gamble argues that the rise in the level of the Black Sea cannot be equated to the Biblical flood.
"I doubt that whatever event it was that resulted in the rise in sea level of the Black Sea had much to do with the Biblical flood," said Gamble. "I don't see any connection."
Still, the finding has excited the expedition team, prompting them to lengthen their exploration of the area. So far, the team has mapped out about 50 other potential sites for exploration. Because the Black Sea was an ancient trade route between Greece, Egypt and the Near East, it is believed to be a potential reservoir of many more artifacts.
But there will never be any solid proof that this flood was indeed the Biblical one, warns Anthropology Prof. Patricia Wattenmaker.
"We're looking for the flood, but we're just getting evidence of a flood," said Wattenmaker. "Can we link these things to either of these floods? No"
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