Fishermen find prehistoric wooden boat in Black Sea

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Fishermen Find Ancient Boat in Black Sea AP

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SOFIA, Bulgaria (Nov. 29) - A well-preserved ancient wooden dugout canoe has been discovered at the bottom of the Black Sea, scientists said Saturday.

 

The vessel was discovered by fishermen trailing nets along the sea bottom some 15 miles off the coast, said Dimitar Nedkov, head of the Archaeological Museum in the port city of Sozopol.

 

Archaeological Discovery: Fishermen discovered a well-preserved wooden boat, likely dating back to the prehistoric age, at the bottom of the Black Sea. It's being studied at a museum in Sofia, Bulgaria.

 

"The dugout is 8.5 feet long and 27.5 inches wide, and it is made most probably of oak," Nedkov told The Associated Press.

 

Bulgarian explorers have found four ancient vessels in remarkably good condition in the Black Sea, whose oxygen-depleted deep water preserves wrecks without the worm damage and deterioration that normally affects wooden vessels.

 

"Nowhere else can you find similar dugouts, as well as any kind of wooden vessels over 300 years old, because water rots the wood away," said Bozhidar Dimitrov, head of the National Museum of History. "In the Black Sea, however, there is dissolved hydrogen sulfide below a certain depth which preserves all organic materials."

 

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. AOL. 2008-11-29