Crumbling shipwreck reemerges after dam collapses in Ukraine. See the 500-year-old find
Once submerged in the riverbed, a centuries-old shipwreck reemerged following the devastating collapse of a dam in a Russia-controlled region of southern Ukraine.
The crumbling boat — and several other ancient artifacts — resurfaced along the shore of Khortytsia, the largest island in the Dnieper River, the Khortytsia National Reserve said in a June 30 Facebook post.
National park employees found the 500-year-old shipwreck while surveying a previously submerged shoreline of Khortytsia, the park said. The boat was about 22 feet long and made of oak.
The boat might be linked to a Russian settlement that existed on the island from the 10th to 14th century, officials said. The settlement relied on boats for fishing, trade and transportation.
Video footage shared by Sky News shows the half-buried boat resting on the riverbed. Several people worked to dig up the boat.
Ancient ceramic pieces, flints and fragments of bombs were also found along the coastline recently, the park said in an Instagram post.
Water levels around Khortytsia have dropped following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, park officials said, as the island and nature reserve are upstream from the dam. The southern edge of the island was once part of the Kakhovka reservoir, according to the nature reserve’s website.
What we know about the Kakhovka Dam collapse
The Kakhovka Dam collapsed on June 6, sending floodwaters roaring downstream, photos show.
The dam’s destruction flooded countless homes and fields, prompting the evacuation of thousands, BBC reported. The floodwaters reportedly uprooted landmines and carried large amounts of industrial materials with it, sparking safety concerns.
Photos show several neighborhoods of Kherson, a large port city along the Dnieper River downstream from the Kakhovka Dam, during the worst of the flooding.
Upstream, the collapse of the Kakhovka Dam has led to waterways and canals drying up, leaving thousands of fish to die, the Associated Press reported. The sudden loss of the reservoir was a “long-term environmental catastrophe.”
The cause of the collapse remains uncertain. The dam might have collapsed due to structural failures or targeted efforts, CNN reported.
Ukraine and Russia, however, have accused each other of attacking the dam, BBC reported.
The fragmented ship was excavated in pieces and will be preserved and restored, park officials said.
Khortytsia is about 320 miles southeast of Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital city which also sits along the Dnieper River.
Facebook Translate and Google Translate were used to translate Facebook and Instagram posts from Khortytsia National Reserve.
This story was originally published July 3, 2023 at 1:06 PM with the headline "Crumbling shipwreck reemerges after dam collapses in Ukraine. See the 500-year-old find."
