Kiten 1
From surveys conducted in the 1970s, it is known that scant ship remains have been found in the waters near Kaliakra, Kavarna, Balchik, Varna, and Pomorie. Comparatively well-preserved Late Medieval wooden sailing ships were discovered near the Urdoviza Peninsula in Kiten as early as 1978 by the Centre for Underwater Archaeology – Sozopol.
The first underwater archaeological excavations of one of the ships in the southern bay of Urdoviza were undertaken in the 1980s (1982–1986) under the scientific direction of Kalin Porozhanov. Among the ship remains were scattered ceramic fragments, complete vessels, and vertically positioned wooden posts from dwellings of an Early Bronze Age settlement (mid-IIIrd millennium BC). In 1986, rescue excavations of the Bronze Age settlement were carried out, and the ship was preserved in situ on the seabed.
Investigations of the ship were resumed between 2000 and 2003 by a joint expedition of the Centre for Underwater Archaeology, Sozopol, and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology in Texas, USA, under the leadership of Kroum Batchvarov. For the first time in Bulgaria, a computer-based programme introduced by the American underwater archaeologists was used for field recording of the site. This system relies on the determination of vector coordinates, where each significant point of the hull is fixed by four linear measurements. The software then transforms the data into X–Y–Z coordinates, assigning each point a precise 3D spatial position. The average accuracy achieved with this method is about 2 mm.
The construction of the excavated vessel is characteristic of ships from the XVI–XVII centuries. All available evidence suggests that this was a ship specifically built to sail the waters of the Black Sea and was likely constructed at a shipyard on the Western Black Sea coast. The ship has survived almost up to deck level on the starboard side, while the port side is less well preserved. The structural elements closely match those of a shipwreck from the late XVI century discovered by a team from the Institute of Nautical Archaeology off Yassıada on the Aegean coast of Turkey. A repeated measurement of 21 cm and its multiples was noted throughout the structure, indicating a clear metrological system likely based on a step-span-finger unit system.
A notable feature of the construction is the use of a hook-shaped wooden joint, typical of Mediterranean shipbuilding practices in the XVI and early XVII centuries, though in this case, it has unique characteristics. Significantly, some construction elements of the excavated ship have been preserved in traditional Bulgarian wooden shipbuilding along the Western Black Sea coast up until the mid-XX century – and in some cases, even today.
In the southern stern section, artefacts were discovered that confirm the location of the captain’s cabin or officers’ quarters. These include: a lead sounding weight (lead depth-measuring tool), finely crafted and inlaid copper vessels – a teapot and plates -, a lead-glazed clay bowl, and other fragments, some of which feature static depictions of animals.
