Ropotamo – A Harbour with a Millennia-Long History Beneath the Waves
The bay at the mouth of the Ropotamo River conceals traces of human activity dating back over 5,000 years. As early as the late XIX century, Karel Škorpil documented the first archaeological finds in the area, but it was not until 1976 that an underwater site was accidentally discovered at a depth of around 4 metres below sea level. In the 1980s, the first underwater archaeological investigations began, led by Prof. Ivan Karayotov and Hristina Angelova.
The oldest discoveries are the remains of a submerged settlement from the Early Bronze Age (IIIrd millennium BC). Over time, throughout Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and even up to the XIX century, the bay was used as a naturally sheltered harbour, protected by Cape Saint Dimitar. Archaeologists have found ceramics from various periods – amphorae, vessels, and objects from Late Antiquity, the medieval and Ottoman periods.
Of particular interest are fragments of Late Antique amphorae from the VI century AD, one of which bears a depiction of a Latin cross and the inscription TERA—a name associated with an ancient harbour south of Sozopol, mentioned in historical maps and texts.
There are also hypotheses that this may have been the site of the Thracian harbour settlement of Chersonesos – a theory supported by numerous ceramic finds dating from the Vth to IIIrd centuries BC, including vessels imported from the Eastern Mediterranean.
The geographical features of the peninsula between the mouth of the Ropotamo and the marsh area of Stamopulo further support this theory. In medieval nautical charts, the site appears under names such as Oriospotamo or Oropotamo (translated: “border river”). In the XVIII century, French geographer Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville referred to it as Padama—a small harbour used for shipping timber and charcoal to Constantinople.
After nearly three decades of inactivity, underwater archaeological research at the site resumed in 2017 as part of the international Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project (M.A.P. Black Sea), jointly funded by Julia and Hans Rausing through the UK-based Expeditions and Education Foundation and the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture. The project’s aim was to study how sea level changes over the millennia have impacted coastal communities. (http://blackseamap.com/bg/).
Using modern technology, including multibeam sonar and geophysical methods, a detailed underwater model of the seabed was created and an excavation zone was selected. In June 2017, archaeologists explored an area of 50 square metres at a depth of around 3 metres. It was confirmed that the bay had functioned as a harbour during various historical periods—from the Ottoman period to Late Antiquity – playing an important role in trade with Constantinople. Among the most significant finds were the remains of an Early Bronze Age settlement, preserved at a depth of 2.5 metres beneath the present seabed. The archaeological layers here are over 3 metres thick – a rare condition that offers invaluable insights into the region’s development over the past five millennia.
Researchers are also seeking evidence of an even older, Chalcolithic (Copper Age) settlement beneath the Bronze Age layers.
(Learn more about the prehistoric settlement at the mouth of the Ropotamo River in the “Prehistoric Settlements” section.)
For detailed information on the methodology and results of the investigations, visit the Scientific Publications – Annual Reports (2017) section.
