Aurora Trust 2011 Season

Today we completed Area III of our side scan sonar survey. Following over a week of surveying the seabed we are now preparing the ISIS for ROV work. Tomorrow a crane is booked so as to remove the winch, a job that will be carried out at the small fisherman’s port across the bay.

Today, our directors and co-founders left the boat to return to the US. Theyhad brought with them an Explorer’s Club flag that has accompanied us throughout this project.

A stiff breeze has been blowing over the past few days. The wind starts gently in the morning but build up throughout the afternoon. This situation has slowed our operation somewhat as we only manage to complete a few survey lines before the sea picks up. Today we completed Area II, the largest of the three areas we working on.

The weather forecast for the coming days looks good so the plan is to survey some targets in Areas I & II using 900 KhZ. We will then start Area III which we hope to complete by the weekend. Fingers crossed that the weather will hold out.

Today we completed five long survey lines: over 7km each one. We welcomed Dr Claudia on board – since 2010 AURORA Trust has collaborated with her on the study of marine habitats around the island of Hvar. We use side scan sonar data and rov footage to measure habitats and also quantify species present.

We noted a few targets of (archaeological) interest during the medium resolution survey. However, the weather picked up and we were unable to verify the targets using the 900 KhZ high resolution survey. We struggled through rough seas on the ISIS to make Hvar harbour.

Once on board the Fortaleza we imported today’s data and analyzed the information.

Welcome Back! We have returned to Croatia for the second season of our project off the island of Hvar. In 2010, we covered over 40 square km with side scan sonar. This year we are working off the southern coast of the island.

Over the past decades, numerous archaeological objects have been brought up from the seabed by divers and fishermen. Archaeologists have also excavated a number of shipwrecks close to the shore. Our mission is to locate and map sites that are beyond conventional diving depths.

We have already completed a number of survey lines and should the weather hold out we will out surveying all this week.

This morning AURORA hosted a press conference to announce the results of the first season of the Messina Project. The mayor was on board as were representatives from the local partners including the Superintendence of the Sea. We announced the discovery of two ancient shipwrecks that we located off the Sicilian coast. One site consists of mixed amphorae whereas the secon is mainly made up of ballast stones, lead ingots and grinding stones (small flour mills). The latter site has all three anchors in situ just off one end of the wreck. The footage and photos of these remarkable finds were well received by all present and a couple of the images will be posted on this site. More images and video footage will soon be posted to our website.