There are countless prehistoric tombs under modern building complexes and highways, remnants of centuries-old shipwrecks resting many fathoms below the surface, and ancient villages lost beneath layers of sediment that are hidden from human eyes. But these hidden gems — whether it's the lost tomb of Jesus and his family or a remnant from an olive jar that pre-dates Christianity — are now becoming available for inspection."
"Our ability to build virtual reconstructions has changed the way we look at the sites. Often we realize that what we thought was the story was wrong or misunderstood."
— Vitomir Jevremovic, University of Belgrade
For Dr. Brendan Foley, research associate of archeology at the Oceanographic Institution Woods Hole in Massachusetts, nothing could be more hands off than archeological sites on the ocean floor. As the only archeologist on staff at the institution, Foley has access to some of the most advanced remote underwater vehicle technologies around to explore the Mediterranean Sea's deeper waters for ancient artifacts.
"I get to take all the great sensors and vehicles all the engineers have built over the years and apply it to archeology," he said.
The problem faced by ocean archeologists is that the majority of shipwrecks are out of reach for human divers, who can only excavate in shallower waters.
"Clearly there are plenty of shipwrecks in deeper water," Foley said. "But the only way to see them is with technology."
Since 2005 he has been using a robotic autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in the Aegean Sea to gather images and data on remnants from a shipwreck dating back to 350 B.C. The unit, which has two large metal tubes on metal struts, is programmed to sweep a preprogrammed area in a "lawnmower" fashion and take pictures, run sonar readings and collect data using chemical and environmental sensors to catalogue inorganic debris such as sculptures, transport jars and cooking utensils.
Foley said he is working with engineers to pioneer newer advancements into the AUVs so he can go further back in time. "I want to find wrecks that date back to the dawn of civilization 5,000 years ago."
To do that, he said, will take new style, fast- running AUVs that can cover large distances and have extra sensors including next generation spectrometers to detect subtle chemical differences in sediment.
"It will need new kinds of embedded intelligence so it can make decisions about what it is seeing. An integrated vehicle that can navigate, has embedded intelligence and comes with all kinds of sensors – that's how we'll crack the nut on how civilization started."
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