Black Sea MAP

The Black Sea is considered to be one of the finest under water laboratories, due to the anoxic layer which preserves artefacts better than any other under water environment. It is thought that what lies on the sea-bed of the Black Sea may be thousands of years old, and therefore archaeologists can go back in time to see how human civilisations lived and evolved.

The Bulgarian side of the Black Sea has never been explored in this depth or on this scale. Marine geophysicists and archaeologists are working in tandem to build a picture of the cultural history of Bulgaria, and potentially even discover a prehistoric record of humanity in the region.

The team is made up of over 20 people working across all aspects of the project, from the archaeological dig to a documentary team, videoing all stages of the project.

Alongside this, Black Sea MAP have joined up with Catalyst Learning and Communication, which enabled interested young students to work alongside scientists involved in the project. Students were given training at the National Oceanographic Centre in Southampton, where they analysed data and samples from the Black Sea.

Additionally, educational resources have been made available to schools across the UK, teaching them about the project.

Hans K Rausing conceived of the project and established the Expedition and Education Foundation, whose work is funded by The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust. The Trust has been closely involved with the project, and hope it could change what we know about civilizations as well as the history of Bulgaria.