Shipwreck in the Black Sea, discovered by Robert Ballard and dated to the fifth century AD.
If I had to name the person with the most purely fascinating career of the last fifty years, I'd probably flip a coin between Carl Sagan and Robert Ballard. Ballard is most famous for finding shipwrecks, but he has also made great contributions to our understanding of undersea environments and the archeological bounty the seas hold.
The Black Sea is special because there is no free oxygen in its water below 200M, meaning that the wood-eating microorganisms that thus destroy wooden ships that sink in other seas and oceans are not found here; thus, sunken wooden vessels in the Black Sea can last much, much longer -- thousands of years, in fact -- than they would in any other sea. The Black Sea is also of interest because of its location and the possibility that it may have played a part in what eventually became the legend of Noah's Flood, as well as the flood legends found in nearly every ancient culture.
Now, what I really want Ballard to find is Flight #19....
Also, Ballard gave CNN interview about the search for ships in the Black Sea.
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