What were told to the scientists of the courts of the ancient Romans, found by chance by miners in Serbia on the site of a dry river

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Clear traces of a shipwreck of ancient Roman ships were found in Serbia under amazing circumstances. The miners of the Kostolatsk surface coal mine were digging a slope with an excavator and suddenly stumbled upon the surface of wooden boats. Scientists believe that the find belongs to the Roman era. The boats were buried under mud, but in fact - under what used to be an ancient river. According to experts, the ships have lain here for at least 1,300 years.

What are these ships?

This find, although unexpected, seems incredible only at first glance, since the mine is located near the place where the ancient Roman city of Viminatius once existed. The largest of the boats discovered by the miners is a flat-bottomed river vessel 15 meters long and more than one and a half meters wide. It is made of sturdy oak and built in such a way that the version of Ancient Rome seems very logical - it was there that similar methods of shipbuilding existed. However, similar methods were used in Byzantium, as well as in the countries of medieval Europe. A perfectly preserved piece of oak was sent for radiocarbon analysis.

The other two fragments turned out to be smaller in size and not so grandiose in appearance: they were cut from single tree trunks. It is known that boats of this type were used by the Slavs who wanted to attack the Roman border.

The large ship was equipped with six oars and had one deck. In addition, it was equipped for a triangular Latin sail. There are signs of renovation and reconstruction of the hull and other parts, suggesting that the ship had a lot to endure during its service to the alleged Romans, so being able to confirm the ship's age would help confirm its origin. One of the two small boats has some carvings, but both look much simpler than a large boat.

None of the ships showed signs of damage as a result of hostilities or fire, so the version of their participation in the battle disappears. A large ship could be used as a transport ship, however, it could also be a warship. It is also interesting that the wreck does not contain any personal items that could tell the researchers which crew was on the ship. As for smaller boats, this type of boat was most often used to cross the river for the purpose of land attacks.

They seemed to have failed, and then "mothballed"

Interestingly, these boats were found at a depth of about seven meters, while the ancient Roman artifacts, according to archaeologists, should have been much higher - at a depth of two meters.

- It is very strange. It seems that the whole fleet was at anchor here, and then suddenly fell to the bottom at once, where it was mothballed for many centuries, scientists say.

To understand exactly what happened here, you need to wait for the expertise, which will accurately indicate the date of the discovery.

By the way, ancient ships were found in almost the same area where earlier archaeologists had found the remains of a mammoth. True, in comparison with them, the boats are a very recent find, because the bones of the mammoth are about a million years old, and they lay deeper - at a depth of 19-20 meters.

But if a million years ago mammoths walked in these places, then during the Roman Empire the Klepechka River flowed here, which dried up in the century before last. In ancient Roman times, this place may have been very deep, so a shipwreck is quite possible.

The biggest mystery: how were the boats able to be so tightly stored all these years under clay and mud, which did not allow them to completely collapse? By the way, before the miners were discovered by the miners, the wooden ships remained in excellent condition, and it was earthmoving equipment that caused a significant part of the damage. The biggest of the boats was unlucky. The director of the Archaeological Institute and the head of the Viminacium science project, Miomir Korac, estimates that 35-40% of this vessel was damaged when the mining equipment was digging the slope.

However, the team of archaeologists has collected all the fragments and believes that they can restore the boat almost completely. It is hoped that when all three ships are repaired, they will be able to shed some light on how they were built and how they ended up where they were found.

Military base of the ancient Romans

The Viminacium fell in AD 600 after the Avar-Slavic invasion, and there is no historical evidence of any other ports existing in the area after that time. Viminacius was a large city, being both the capital of the Roman province of Moesia and the military camp of the province.

It was located 12 miles from the Serbian town of Kostolac, on the banks of the Danube River. Nowadays, it is an archaeological park, which gives tourists the opportunity to see various fragments of the city's ruins. The size of this city and the role it played in those days make the three boats the most important intrigue for local archaeologists.