Danaos Project
Finding the Ancient Way from Crete to Egypt
Investigator - Dr. Shelley Wachsmann, Nautical Archaeology Program Professor, Texas A&M
Location - Southwest of Gaidhouronísí (Krisi) Island, Crete
Period - Classical to Modern
Fieldwork - The Danaos project aims to reconstruct the ancient direct passage from Crete to Egypt by locating and studying shipwrecks and jetsam on the seabed. During our 2008 (second) expedition we completed the survey of a plateau located southwest of Gaidhouronísí (Krisi) Island, off Ierapetra which began in 2007 (Fig. 1:A). We located 33 artifacts, mostly amphoras, which varied in date from the Classical to the Late Roman/Byzantine periods (Fig. 2).
We plotted a line of Late Roman/Byzantine period amphoras trailing in a northwest to southeast direction, which apparently represent the archaeological manifestation of cargo being jettisoned during storms. We carried out MaxRover ROV inspections for about 1 km (1.6 m) at either end of the line. This resulted in the discovery of additional artifacts, but no evidence of a shipwreck. Evidently, the vessel either managed to avoid destruction or sank farther off.
One anomaly proved to be the remains of a WW II airplane (Fig.3). This wreckage has been tentatively identified by Mr. P. Fix as a Focke-Wolf (FW-190): it may have been lost during the battle of Crete.
We also spent one day surveying the Kassian Strait east of Crete, which lies between Crete and the island of Kassos to its east and found two amphoras there (Fig. 1: B, 4). This concludes the survey of the plateau southwest of Gaidhouronísí Island, which was the focus of the 2007-2008 expeditions. Plans for 2009 focus on a survey of select portions of the Kassian Strait and its southern approaches.
Additional Resources
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