It’s a treasure of inestimable – archaeological – worth which is exhumed: at 2,500 meters within the depths of the Mediterraneanat an undisclosed location off the coast of Ramatuelle, the claw of a submarine remotely managed delicately picks up a sixteenth century ceramic pitcher whose colours stay surprisingly vibrant.
Secret coordinates
Carried out collectively by a division of marine nationwide, the Cephismer (Human diving and underwater intervention knowledgeable middle), and the Drassmwhich is dependent upon Ministry of Culture (Division of underwater and underwater archaeological analysis), the operation Calliope 26.1 constitutes the primary stage of analysis work on the wreck Digicam 4the deepest ever present in French territorial waters.
The solar has barely risen when the ocean-going tug Jason involves a halt, after two hours of navigation from the Var coast. “The coordinates can’t be transmitted given the sensitivity of the objects that have been found on the underside, even when we all know that few folks might go there,” smiles officer Romain, identifiable solely by his first title, in command of operations inside the Cephismer.
A robotic for help
The ship, sunk 5 centuries in the past, fortuitously discovered in 2025as a part of an operation to manage the seabed led by the military. A discovery that the Calliope 26.1 mission, carried out this yr, goals to discover additional.
With a view to meet the technological problem, a towing vessel was geared up with an ROV (remotely operated underwater vehicle) which may go right down to 4,000 meters. Connected to the boat platform by a cable, it has a number of cameras in addition to articulated arms. Two containers full the system from which the groups management the robotic and observe the photographs stay.
Photographers in motion
After an hour of descent, the ROV arrives on the stage of the Digicam 4. “It’s extraordinarily exact work in order to not harm the location, in order to not increase the sediment,” breathes Sébastien, head of the Calliope 26.1 mission. “This dexterous work can be of main curiosity in coaching our sailors.”
On the wall of management screens in entrance of which the researchers have gathered, the wreckage is revealed: the construction of the boatand canona whole bunch of pitchers and plates richly adorned with floral motifs, crosses, blue, orange and inexperienced fish. The digicam shoots: eight photographs per second for 3 hours – practically 68,000 images – with a view to perform photogrammetry, modeling 3D of the wreck…
A web site remaining intact
“The visibility is great,” rejoices Franca Cibecchini, maritime archaeologist at Drassm. “We don’t notice the depth. Due to this high quality, we will say that it’s most likely a business boat transporting earthenware from Liguria (north-west of Italy).Italy), so maybe from the port of Genoa or Savona.”
“What’s essential can be that it’s a web site on which there couldn’t have been any tried looting after the shipwreck », provides Marine Sadania, the researcher who manages the operations. “For the sixteenth century, we’ve texts that aren’t very talkative about business ships, so it’s a helpful testimony to maritime historical past and transport networks.”
Extraordinarily fragile treasures
Throughout the marketing campaign, a number of pitchers and plates are taken to be analyzed as soon as again on land. On the Drassm laboratory in MarseilleMarine Sadania delicately passes one in every of these ceramics underwater: “it is without doubt one of the deepest objects ever taken from a wreck in France. For us, it’s a chance to check protocols for eradicating this furnishings whereas preserving its integrity.”
A 3rd of the ceramics introduced out from the depths throughout underwater excavations find yourself breaking with out scientists explaining it.
A short lived exhibition is deliberate for November at Toulon Marine Museum to current the researchers’ first outcomes to most of the people. The wreck will stay on the backside of the water to respect the conservation fashions really useful by theUNESCO.
