The discovery of the vestiges of an antique civilisation on the bed of the Black Sea has brought proof of a giant tidal wave which swept over the Bosporus 7500 years ago, the head of an archaeological mission headed by Dr Robert Ballard, the man who found the Titanic. The mission, carried out with the assistance of professor Friedrik Hiebert, has been trying to prove that the Mediterranean sea flowed into the Black Sea, which was then a lake of fresh water with a power equivalent to 200 times the Niagara Falls.
The Bible (Genesis) evoked a 40-day deluge and according to archaeologists, the level of the Black Sea rose by two metres daily over flooding its banks and all dwellings. It is known that fresh water lies in the depths of the Black Sea which are oxygen-free, thus preventing corrosion and preserving vestiges.
With the help of geologists of the Columbia University and the support of the National Geographic Foundation, the mission has found the vestiges of a village from the Bronze Age northwest of the small Turkish harbour of Sinope.
All objects found on the seabed, notably tools and ceramic fragments, are well preserved, archaeologists said. They now hope to discover the remnants of boats that were probably identical to Noah's ark.
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