Archeologists in Serbia are painstakingly brushing sand and soil off the ancient woodwork of a Roman ship discovered by miners in a vast opencast coal quarry.
After an excavator at the Drmno mine uncovered some timber, experts from the site of a nearby former Roman settlement known as Viminacium rushed to try and preserve the skeleton of the ship, the second such discovery in the area since 2020.
The vessel was probably part of a river fleet serving the sprawling and highly developed Roman city of 45,000 people which had a hippodrome, fortifications, a forum, a palace, temples, an amphitheater, aqueducts, baths and workshops.
Photo: Reuters
Lead archeologist Miomir Korac said previous findings suggest the ship might date back as far as the 3rd or 4th century when Viminacium was capital of the Roman province of Moesia Superior and had a port near a tributary of the Danube River.
“We may assume that this ship is Roman, but we are unsure of its exact age,” he said at the dusty site hanging precariously above a vast open coal pit.
The wood was first sprayed with water and kept under a tarpaulin to prevent decay in the summer heat, Korac added.
Archeologists believe the two ships and three canoes uncovered so far in the area either sank or were abandoned at the river bank.
The intention is to put the latest discovery on display with thousands of artifacts unearthed from Viminacium near the town of Kostolac, 70km east of Belgrade.
Mladen Jovicic, who is part of the team working on the newly discovered ship, said moving its 13m hull without breaking it would be tough.
“Our engineer friends ... will prepare a special structure that will be lifted by a crane, and ... the entire process of gradual conservation will follow,” he said.
Excavations of Viminacium have been going on since 1882, but archeologists estimate they have only scoured 5 percent of the site, which they say is 450 hectares — bigger than New York City’s Central Park — and unusual in not being buried under a modern city.
Discoveries so far include golden tiles, jade sculptures, mosaics and frescoes, weapons and remains of three mammoths.
BOMBARDMENT: Moscow sent more than 440 drones and 32 missiles, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, in ‘one of the most terrifying strikes’ on the capital in recent months A nighttime Russian missile and drone bombardment of Ukraine killed at least 15 people and injured 116 while they slept in their homes, local officials said yesterday, with the main barrage centering on the capital, Kyiv. Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said 14 people were killed and 99 were injured as explosions echoed across the city for hours during the night. The bombardment demolished a nine-story residential building, destroying dozens of apartments. Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble. Russia flung more than 440 drones and 32 missiles at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
COMPETITION: The US and Russia make up about 90 percent of the world stockpile and are adding new versions, while China’s nuclear force is steadily rising, SIPRI said Most of the world’s nuclear-armed states continued to modernize their arsenals last year, setting the stage for a new nuclear arms race, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said yesterday. Nuclear powers including the US and Russia — which account for about 90 percent of the world’s stockpile — had spent time last year “upgrading existing weapons and adding newer versions,” researchers said. Since the end of the Cold War, old warheads have generally been dismantled quicker than new ones have been deployed, resulting in a decrease in the overall number of warheads. However, SIPRI said that the trend was likely
‘SHORTSIGHTED’: Using aid as leverage is punitive, would not be regarded well among Pacific Island nations and would further open the door for China, an academic said New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, it said yesterday, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group’s deepening ties with China. A spokesperson for New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand early this month decided to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million (US$11 million) in core sector support funding for this year and next year as it “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.” New Zealand and Australia have become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific
Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki yesterday erupted again with giant ash and smoke plumes after forcing evacuations of villages and flight cancelations, including to and from the resort island of Bali. Several eruptions sent ash up to 5km into the sky on Tuesday evening to yesterday afternoon. An eruption on Tuesday afternoon sent thick, gray clouds 10km into the sky that expanded into a mushroom-shaped ash cloud visible as much as 150km kilometers away. The eruption alert was raised on Tuesday to the highest level and the danger zone where people are recommended to leave was expanded to 8km from the crater. Officers also
RSS