Why are scientists obsessed with the Black Sea? - Helen Farr and Jon Adams

Prevodilac: Milica Mirković Lektor: Milenka Okuka

It's midnight on September 16th, 2017,

Ponoć je 16. septembra 2017. godine,

60 kilometers off the Bulgarian coast

na 60 kilometara od bugarske obale

and 2 kilometers beneath the Black Sea’s surface.

i dva kilometra ispod površine Crnog mora.

A remotely operated vehicle surveys the seabed,

Daljinski navođeno plovilo pretražuje morsko dno

transmitting video to researchers above as it goes.

i dok se kreće, šalje video signal istraživačima na površini.

Suddenly, it discerns another ghostly vessel in the gloom.

Odjednom, nalik utvari u tami, nazire se drugo plovilo.

But this is a relic from another age.

Samo, ovo je ostatak iz nekog drugog doba.

It's an undoubtedly ancient shipwreck,

Nema sumnje da se radi o drevnoj olupini,

but its mast, rowing benches, and some of its upper deck remain eerily intact.

ali su joj jarbol, veslačke klupe i deo gornje palube sablasno netaknuti.

It might be an ancient Roman ship, but its appearance doesn’t quite match.

Možda se radi o starorimskom brodu, mada se izgled baš i ne uklapa.

Notably, its splayed rudder blade more closely resembles

Pre svega, široki list kormila mnogo više podseća

those depicted on an even older Greek vase.

na ona oslikana na znatno starijoj grčkoj vazi.

To get a definitive answer, the research team takes three samples from the wreck

Kako bi pronašli odgovor, istraživači su uzeli tri uzorka sa olupine

and radiocarbon dating confirms its ancient origins.

a radiometrijskim datiranjem je potvrđeno njeno drevno poreklo.

The ship is dated to between 350 and 410 BCE.

Brod datira iz perioda između 350. i 410. godine pre nove ere.

It is, in fact, the oldest intact shipwreck ever found.

To je svakako najstarija netaknuta olupina koju smo ikad pronašli.

This ancient Greek vessel traversed the Black Sea’s coasts

Ovaj drevni grčki brod je plovio od obale do obale Crnog mora

during the time of Aristotle and has since rested in its depths,

još u vreme Aristotela i od tada počiva u dubinama,

unseen and undisturbed, for almost 2,500 years.

gde ga, netaknutog, niko nije video skoro 2 500 godina.

This was just one of 65 shipwrecks a research team discovered

Ovo je samo jedna od 65 olupina koje je istraživački tim otkrio

at the bottom of the Black Sea between 2015 and 2017.

na dnu Crnog mora između 2015. i 2017. godine.

Others date from the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman empires.

Ostale olupine datiraju iz doba rimskog, vizantijskog i otomanskog carstva

And despite the centuries, they’ve all survived in remarkable condition.

Uprkos vekovima, svaki od njih je očuvan u neverovatno dobrom stanju.

So, why does the Black Sea contain so many well-preserved shipwrecks?

Pa, zašto se u Crnom moru nalazi toliko dobro očuvanih olupina?

In prehistoric times,

U praistoriji,

the land surrounding the Black Sea hosted early human settlements.

kopno koje je okruživalo Crno more je bilo kolevka ranih ljudskih naseobina.

Eventually, it became a hub for trade, battle, and empire-building

Kasnije je postalo središte trgovine, ratova i stvaranja carstava

because of its strategic position

zahvaljujući svom strateškom položaju

between eastern and western Eurasian civilizations.

između istočnih i zapadnih evroazijskih civilizacija.

For thousands of years, it was traversed by merchants, pirates, and warriors.

Hiljadama godina, tuda su putovali trgovci, gusari i ratnici.

And with sustained seafaring activity came inevitable losses.

A sa neprekidnom moreplovačkom aktivnošću došli su i neizbežni gubici.

But unlike other bodies of water in the region,

Za razliku od drugih vodenih površina na tom području,

the Black Sea is a particularly deep, semi-enclosed basin.

Crno more ima naročito dubok, poluzatvoren basen.

Seasonal changes usually cause the layers within a contained body of water

Smena godišnjih doba obično dovodi do mešanja slojeva vode u vodenoj masi,

to mix together, oxygenating the water.

a kada se slojevi pomešaju, to donosi kiseonik u vodu.

But because the Black Sea is fed with fresh water from European rivers,

Ali pošto u Crno more utiče slatka voda iz evropskih reka

and saltwater from the Mediterranean Sea, it contains two distinct layers.

i slana voda iz Mediteranskog mora, ono ima dva odvojena sloja.

The denser saltwater flows beneath the freshwater,

Gušća slana voda teče ispod slatke vode,

where it remains permanently,

gde ostaje trajno,

making the Black Sea the world’s largest meromictic— or un-mixing— basin.

čineći Crno more — koje se ne meša — najvećim meromiktičnim basenom na svetu.

Oxygen doesn’t reach its lower, saltier zone,

Kiseonik ne dopire do njegovog nižeg, slanijeg dela

which creates the ideal environment for preservation,

što stvara idealno okruženje za očuvanje

and is why the Black Sea has been called “the world’s biggest pickle jar.”

pa se zato Crno more naziva i „najvećom teglom za kiseljenje.“

In other bodies of water, marine organisms decompose materials over time.

U drugim vodenim masama, kako teče vreme, morski organizmi razlažu materijale.

Had the ancient Greek ship sunk in the Mediterranean, for example,

Da je ovaj drevni grčki brod potonuo, recimo, u Mediteranskom moru,

there would likely be no organic material left today.

danas verovatno ne bi ostalo nimalo organskog materijala.

But in the depths of the Black Sea,

Ali u dubinama Crnog mora,

only anaerobic bacteria— those that don’t require oxygen— can survive.

mogu da prežive samo anaerobne bakterije, kojima za život nije potreban kiseonik.

This is why ancient ships can still be found carrying their original cargo,

Zbog toga je moguće pronaći drevne brodove koji još uvek nose svoj tovar netaknut,

with carvings in their wood, and their rigging still assembled.

sa duborezom u drvetu i još uvek zapetom užadi.

Among the recent findings was a medieval Italian merchant ship,

Među nedavnim otkrićima je i srednjevekovni italijanski trgovački brod

likely from around the time Italy had a virtual monopoly over Black Sea trade.

verovatno iz perioda kada je Italija imala monopol nad trgovinom u Crnom moru.

Venetian traveler Marco Polo would’ve probably been familiar

Venecijanski putopisac, Marko Polo bi verovatno prepoznao

with this kind of ship.

ovu vrstu broda.

Although vessels like this one helped to modernize Europe,

Iako su ovakva plovila omogućila napredak Evrope,

contemporary scholars had never before seen such a complete example.

savremeni naučnici nisu nikada pre videli tako očuvan primerak.

And it was largely intact—

A bio je skoro netaknut —

a ship’s boat still lying on its deck,

brodski čamac i dalje položen na palubi,

even though some seven centuries had passed.

iako je proteklo oko sedam vekova.

Many of the 65 ships that were recently uncovered

Mnogi od 65 nedavno otkrivenih brodova

have retained their original forms.

su zadržali prvobitne oblike.

But while there are far fewer degradative forces at play in the Black Sea’s depths,

Iako postoji znatno manje razlaganja u dubinama Crnog mora,

anaerobic bacteria do gradually weaken organic materials.

anaerobne bakterije postepeno slabe organske materijale.

When researchers lifted a plank from the ancient Greek wreck for dating,

Kada su istraživači, radi datiranja, podigli dasku sa drevnog broda

it broke under its own weight.

polomila se pod sopstvenom težinom.

While the ships are exceptionally well-preserved, they're also fragile.

Iako su brodovi izvanredno očuvani, oni su i jako krhki.

This makes it impossible to bring them to the surface intact.

Zbog toga ih je nemoguće izneti na površinu netaknute.

Scientists may carefully remove and study select objects from the wreckages.

Naučnici mogu pojedine predmete sa olupine pažljivo vaditi i proučavati.

But the sunken ships will remain protected where they are,

Ali će ptopljeni brodovi ostati zaštićeni tu gde jesu,

perhaps among thousands of others—

možda među hiljadama drugih —

deep beneath us, suspended in time, at the bottom of the Black Sea.

u dubinama, zamrznuti u vremenu, na dnu Crnog mora.