RUSSIAN CONNECTION (PART 3)
Unique artifacts transferred to the Arkhangelsk Regional Museum of Local Lore
Author: Project Press Secretary Aigul Bakiyeva
On the very last day of work, the expeditioners found four fragments of frames of the bottom part of Willem Barents's vessel.
On October 21, Dmitry Kravchenko's search expedition on the Ship Aldan returned to Arkhangelsk. The expedition, which included underwater archaeologists, divers and hydroacoustics, geophysicists and employees of the Russian Arctic Park, spent a month on the territory of the Russian Arctic National Park in the Ice Harbor Bay, near Cape Sporey Navolok. The purpose of the expedition was to confirm with the help of special instruments the presence of a natural geomagnetic anomaly a few meters from the shore, and to convince the scientific community that this anomaly is nothing else than part of the skeleton of the vessel of the Dutch skipper Willem Barents. Underwater archaeologist, historian, Dmitry Kravchenko has been looking for the famous Dutch ship for several decades. In 2012, the expedition entitled “The North is Ours!” was received financial assistance from the Russian Geographical Society and the Foundation for assistance to the northern and Arctic territories.
Dmitry Kravchenko: "The expedition faced an insurmountable challenge working against us – the elements. Snow drifts, wind up to 30 m / s, surge waves near the shore, and negative temperatures meant that we could not fully realize our plans. For example, due to the strong waves, it became more and more difficult to work with the magnetometer and side-scan sonar, which failed and gave erroneous readings. We had planned 11 studies, but we lost almost a full five days. However, luck still smiled on us: almost on the last day of work, we found 4 fragments of frames at the water's edge. And most importantly - they belonged to the bottom of Barents’s ship! Sections of each of the four fragments have been removed from the ocean bed and will be studied using radiocarbon analysis at the Geological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences."
Dmitry Kravchenko does not doubt for one second that the wooden fragments belong to the Dutch vessel. His arguments in favor of the articles founds being of Dutch origin are two-fold: Their composition is clearly from a deciduous tree - most likely oak. The Pomors of the region did not build their Kochi and Karbas from oak, it simply did not exist in the north. In addition, the method of fixing the nails and the nails themselves, according to Kravchenko, also testify to the Dutch origin of the artefacts.
Now the finds have been transferred to the Arkhangelsk Regional Museum of Local Lore. In total, the Kravchenko expedition transferred more than two thousand fragments of artifacts (weapons, tools, dishes, fabric, shoes, ceramics) belonging to the Dutch expedition of 1596-97 to the museum's funds. The historian's dream is to reconstruct the Barents’s vessel. The main conclusion that the expedition made after working in the Ice Harbor is that the vessel will not be found in the place where it was previously assumed to be.
"The fragments we have found were part of the frames (in all likelihood, the futtocks) at the bottom of the vessel. Due to their negative buoyancy, they will not be far from where the rest of the hull resides. Previously, we relied only on instrument readings to provide us with an approximate location, but now It turns out that our recent observations have given us a very good idea where the remains of the vessel lie.
Next year, we will start the expedition earlier in the year and our goals will be to detect the remains of the ship, determine the condition of the keel, and calculate the percentage of erosion that took place. Whether or not to raise the ship in the event of its detection, is still an open question. The director of the park, "Russian Arctic", Roman Ershov, suggested not to rush into this sensitive issue and to conduct only photo and video shooting to document the presence of a caravel at the bottom of the ocean. "We do not know how the hull components, which have been lying at the bottom for several centuries, will react," Roman Ershov explained his position. He thanked the participants of the expedition for their work in the Russian Arctic Park and the finds provided to the museum.
. After rigging the Vasa my brain will never be the same Ha! I'm looking forward to your ratline endeavor and am excited for you on your potential visit back to your home country. By the way I am always in search of the perfect cup of coffee, it's very elusive.
