I just can't get enough of underwater archaeology. I'm sure so much of our shared history is buried along the continental shelves
>The Arabian Gulf has one of the longest and richest seafaring traditions anywhere in the world. Prior to 8,000 years ago sea levels were considerably lower and the land to the north of the Emirates was an open and potentially fertile landscape. This landscape is an untapped resource, offering the prospect of not only ancient wrecks, but discoveries from the distant prehistoric submerged landscape of Abu Dhabi.
>This talk delves into the intricacies surrounding the Arabian Gulf as it relates its' position as an archaeological treasure.
Presented by Dr. Richard Cuttler
Yup temperatures and sea levels have been rising for a long time. It’s amazing what geography looks like when you lower sea level.
One immediate benefit is that there would've been fewer thieves looting the artifacts.
Ideally, something is conserved under dry and oxygenfree conditions. But even in a swamp, without oxygen - amazing things have been found.
The question is probably, was everything covered before the salt water came, or afterwards. And stable. And while in the water with currents that can change, it is possible that everything gets washed free and then covered again over time. Also not good.
(Also exicted about the topic, I am strongly thinking about buying a professional metal detector. Close to where I live, there was one 3000 year old burial site found, I strongly suspect, there are more. And this site, is also not that far from me and 20 m is something you can dive (but I need to train that again))
As a result, a disproportionate amount of our knowledge of Roman bureaucracy comes from Egypt, simply because papyrus preserves so well (even accidentally) in so much of the area. It makes research somewhat awkward, because we know Egypt received special treatment in some ways but it's so often a sample-size of one that we don't know if lots of things are an Egypt thing or a Roman-province thing.
https://greekreporter.com/2024/01/22/pavlopetri-greece-ancie...
Or modern victims of dam building,
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/spanish-sunken-vil...