Visit-Montenegro.com: “Hercules” hunts for amphorae

Tivat – “The current days-long mission of the research vessel “Hercules” in territorial waters of Montenegro is merely the beginning of long-term cooperation project regarding mapping Montenegrin seabed in quest for valuable archaeological sites – amphorae and aircraft wrecks from different periods,” it is said yesterday in Perast during the visit of Montenegrin and U.S. officials to the American research vessel “Hercules”, which belongs to the RPM Nautical Foundation from Florida.

The staff aboard the vessel presented technical performances of “Hercules”. The vessel is equipped with cutting edge multi-beam sonar, underwater vehicle with ROV technologies, modern hydrograph software and software for analyzing data received from sonar, high resolution underwater cameras, and dynamic positioning system.

“Hercules” is engaged to perform systematic recording of the seabed in the Bay of Kotor, and the area at the entrance in Boka and around Cape Traste, using sonar and ROV in order to gather information on locations and the condition of all shipwrecks, aircraft wreckages, amphorae localities and other sites of interest to hydro-archaeologists. Many wrecks present mysteries that divers and historians attempt to solve by piecing together clues on the seabed.

As it is said, obtained information will not be available to the general public in order to prevent misuse and robbing from happening on these sites. However, the obtained information will be used for further research work and protection of these locations of such immense importance to maritime and general culture of Boka and entire Montenegro.

The underwater archaeological research project is a part of cooperation between the Ministry of Culture and US Embassy in Montenegro, and it is carried out by the American “RPM Nautical” Foundation, the Regional Center for Training of Divers in Bijela and the Regional Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in Kotor.

The research is directly overseen by Vilma Kovacevic, the archaeologist from the Regional Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in Kotor. She is going to decide whether findings at the bottom of the sea will be collected and brought up to the surface or they will be left in the seabed after precise mapping and examining by using video-cameras has been carried out.

Having in mind the quality technology available to “Hercules”, especially the multi-beam sonar which creates 3D image of the seabed at the depth of 150 meters, this expedition is expected to bring useful data on what has been “hidden” in the seabed of the Bay of Kotor as well as to bring the solution to some long-time mysteries such as the one where the wreck of the German submarine U-72 is to be found. According to historical data, the submarine was sunk by her own crew somewhere in the Bay on 1st of November in 1918, at the end of the First World War.

“I’m delighted with the arrival of this vessel since this project represents extension of the cooperation between our two countries. While I was in Cetinje two days ago, I have been shown the news article dating back to 1888, and it was about the first arrival of American sailors in the Bay of Kotor, which confirms that the United States of America and Montenegro have established a long-term maritime cooperation. This project’s mission is to discover what lies in the seabed of the Bay of Kotor and to help in preserving and protecting your cultural treasures” – the US Ambassador to Montenegro, Roderick Moore said expressing gratitude to the “RPM Nautical” Foundation which provides funds for the research project of “Hercules” in Montenegro. The project costs the Foundation 25000 USD on daily basis.

Reminding that the two countries have signed the cooperation agreement on protection of the national cultural heritage last year, the Minister of Culture Branislav Micunovic said that the research mission of the “Hercules” will help in “getting the clear picture of the condition of archaeological sites in the seabed and protecting what is still intact from any kind of violence.”

“This is a joint contribution of the two countries to the protection of what belongs to the world cultural heritage in general” – Micunovic pointed out.

When asked if the Ministry of Culture would seize the opportunity to make the detailed map of archaeological sites in the seabed around the Island of Sveti Marko and the shallow Tunja before the Russian investors from the company “Metropol” cover them up, he emphasized that “a lot of attention will be paid to this issue with great and earnest hopes that the cases similar to the one of Lipci will not happen again.”

By S.L.