The Black Sea, perhaps best known as the exotic setting for the tale of Jason and the Argonauts, long served as a maritime highway for Mediterranean cultures. An international team of archaeologists and oceanographers is starting to discover ancient and medieval wrecks using the latest in robotic and digital imaging technology.
A free public lecture, “Exploring in Jason’s Wake: Deepwater Archaeology in the Black Sea,” will reveal the well-preserved state of these wrecks and their cargoes, which has electrified the archaeological community and the world.
The lecture by Dr. Dan Davis, Luther College, will be held Sunday, September 25, 2011 at 3 p.m. in Room G90 of Sabin Hall. Davis’s lecture is free and open to the public.
This lecture provides an overview of Black Sea discoveries through the eyes of Dan Davis, an archaeologist who helped direct the first scientific excavation of two ancient deep-water wrecks in the Black Sea using a remotely-operated vehicle.
Dan Davis studies the material remains of ancient ships and harbors to understand the maritime economy, culture and technology of Greece, Rome and Byzantium. He currently teaches at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa. Dan Davis holds the AIA’s McCann/Taggart Lectureship in Underwater Archaeology for 2011-2012.
This lecture is co-sponsored by the Archaeological Institute of America-Milwaukee Society and the Departments of FLL-Classics, Anthropology and Art History at UWM. It is free and open to the public and followed by free refreshments