Large-scale project, organized in St. Petersburg, the National Centre for Underwater Archaeology, is the common name Scuba Russian heritage and includes a number of scientific research under the guidance of leading Russian archaeologists. This program includes not only search, but a survey has found properties in north-west Russia. As the supervisor of the project Underwater Heritage of Russia Andrey basket, over the past ten years NTSPA underwater archaeologists have identified and partially surveyed more than 400 wrecks, including vessels built in ancient Russia and until the XX century.
Scientists estimate that the Russian at the bottom of the seas, rivers and lakes is a huge graveyard of sunken objects - up to half a million of them. The reason for such a wealth of Russian waters because of the waterways for nearly 1500 years are the most important transport corridors in Europe.
According to the head of the research project AV Lukoshkova, opening wrecks prove that Russia since ancient times, and throughout its history has been the state with the development of shipping and shipbuilding. He notes that only on the Volkhov River, which connects Lake Ladoga to Novgorod the Great, the scientists found 57 wooden hulls of ships. Some of them are unique finds - the ship, which by radiocarbon analysis of the tree about 4000 years old, and paddler with a well-preserved steam engine.
On detected objects scientists consider it possible to reconstruct ancient trade links and contacts of people living in the north-west of the country in the past. Historians believe that the water trade routes passed on various rivers that connect the Gulf with Lake Il#39;men. For example, there was a path through the Volkhov, Ladoga, the Neva River, and was also on the Luga River.
Through research on different routes, the scientists were able to identify several routes along which ships were built of the same type using the same processing methods. This fact is interesting in that examples of similar technology met and in ancient Germany, where they lived Slavs. According to scientists, the analysis of ship design reveals a general trade relations between the Baltic nations and the eastern, southern and western Slavs. Their economic base was trade between the East and the West, which united the Slavic-Baltic world.
Scientific discoveries allow us not only to establish new facts in the history of interaction with the residents of the neighboring nations of ancient Russia, but also to establish the exact cause of the crash vehicles. The project manager said that often finds expedition ships that at various times were met with the same rock. Around the same underwater rocks in the Gulf, we found eight ships, the oldest of which was built of wood, dating from the XVI century, but there are ships XVII, XVIII, XIX century - says A. Lukoshkov. Dating discovered during research helps archaeologists pottery vessels. It enables to determine the time of death of the vessel and thus indirectly identify it. It usually turns out that every thing has a story - the head of the project.
A separate part of the Underwater Heritage is a project of The Secrets of shipwrecks. An important contribution of the project was to study Russian military galliots Tobias Enge, who crashed near Hogland on a stormy night October 28, 1771. In the crash killed the entire crew (45 people), and the circumstances of the tragedy were unknown. Thanks to the latest research, scientists may argue that galliot could not go around the Cape of the island, was damaged and went straight to the bottom.
An important finding was the discovery of Russian 57-gun frigate, Oleg, the flagship of the Emperor Alexander II, between the islands of Hogland and Sommers. Frigate sunk in 1869 during exercise and is on an even keel at a depth of 60 meters. The ship went down very quickly - in just 15 minutes, which is why all the weapons and the interior have been preserved. Scientists note that this is the only sunken ship in the world, the location of which can penetrate into all six decks of the sunken ship. This frigate is considered a historical object of special importance, and any private dive at him banned.
Note that all the vessels are detected by researchers at the bottom on an even keel, effectively in the same state as in the time of death, representing a unique museums. In addition, fresh and cold waters of the eastern Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga and Onega are a perfect preservative, because they do not live carpenter, destroying the ship hulls in the South Seas. However, all of the detected objects do not yet have the status of museum pieces. They are not assessed and there are no rules for their use.
The fact is that in respect of the maritime heritage of the country still does not have a coordinated public policy. For each found object, archaeologists reported in the regional bodies of monuments, where they were fixed, formally put on the account. To get the status of these ancient monuments are protected and need a solution or a regional or federal government. There is a special decision of the Government of the Russian Federation of July 15, 2009 number 569, which defines the procedure for the examination, but its practical application to underwater objects yet.
After overcoming all the formal difficulties, the researchers intend to make the unique surviving ships of underwater tourism. It is worth noting that in the late 1990s were developed programs to visit the underwater sites that are included in the official tourism plans of the Leningrad region. These programs are coordinated plans with tourism companies in Estonia and Finland.
Just one year of joint work showed scientists how big the demand for massive underwater tourism in the framework of day tours to the shore base on small bots, and an 8-10-day diving safari in the larger vessels. Many who want it all over the world and work dive guides and instructors. But what happened in Russia in 1998 defaulted prevented then implement plans for further cooperation.
Today, scientists turned again to the project. According to them, in addition to the unique monuments of interest, the development of underwater tourism in the region could contribute to such factors as satisfactory water clarity and depth of a small, coastal infrastructure, a slight removal of wrecks from shore bases. The significance of this project in the first place is that, as world experience shows, it is the transformation of wrecks in the travel promotes conservation and even renovation.
The Russian project of the underwater cultural heritage was supported by the company UAB Baltic Sea and lasted for 10 years. At this point, the team of divers and scientists have found and identified hundreds of sunken ships lying at the bottom of the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea, the river Neva and Lake Ladoga. Its significance for science are enormous. The study confirmed that the north-west of the country is the richest collection in the world of sunken ships, reflecting the history of shipbuilding, navigation and maritime disasters not only Russia but the whole of Europe. The knowledge gained by archaeologists to study wrecks now allow scientists to revise the settled centuries scientific historical concept.
