Tweet
I have been trying to generate interest in performing a sonar survey of the Ohio River bottom in the vicinity of Cave-in-Rock, Illinois, which is located in the central United States. What I'm searching for are piles of ballast stones. I believe these stones would have been off-loaded from Mediterranean merchant ships between 2,000 and 5,000 years ago. I'm following evidence of ancient Copper trade that occurred between America and the Mediterranean during the "Bronze age." 10,000 ancient copper mines located in Michigan produced approximately 1,700,000,000 pounds of pure "Native" copper during this period. I suspect the copper was mined by indigenous native American people and transported by small portable water craft from the Michigan peninsula through the Great Lakes to the Maumee-Wabash Portage (an 8 mile portage between the St. Mary's and Little River near present day Fort Wayne, Indiana). From the portage it would have went down the Wabash River to the Ohio to be traded to Mediterranean settlers (at Cave-in-Rock) for textile trade goods. Cave-in-Rock is a State Park that features a large cave with a colorful history. It was reported by early river travelers that this cave was covered (walls and ceiling) with European Petroglyphs. The upper level (currently sealed off) still has petroglyphs.
This location has a host of ancient ruins in the area that are apparently of Mediterranean origin. The river at this site is the only place in the region where the banks have remained fixed throughout the millennia. The river depth would also have been favorable at this location. I would be willing to perform this search myself but I know nothing about side-scan sonar. I'm hoping to locate individuals with expertise in this technology who might guide me in this effort. What equipment would work best for locating piles of rocks? I have generated some interest at the Geology department of the University of Illinois at Urbana in this project. What I need is Sonar.
Can this equipment be rented at reasonable cost or can it be constructed? I'm hoping to gather sufficient evidence at this site that will interest academics to follow up on my work. If recovered stones could be analyzed and confirmed as having originated in Europe then sufficient momentum should be available to solicit funding of an electrical survey of the entire river system in search of piles of copper from ancient wrecks. Find the copper and you have a 2-5,000 year old Mediterranean ship wreck in the interior of North America. Now that would change things a bit.
Any suggestions?
Tom Walter
[email protected]
This location has a host of ancient ruins in the area that are apparently of Mediterranean origin. The river at this site is the only place in the region where the banks have remained fixed throughout the millennia. The river depth would also have been favorable at this location. I would be willing to perform this search myself but I know nothing about side-scan sonar. I'm hoping to locate individuals with expertise in this technology who might guide me in this effort. What equipment would work best for locating piles of rocks? I have generated some interest at the Geology department of the University of Illinois at Urbana in this project. What I need is Sonar.
Can this equipment be rented at reasonable cost or can it be constructed? I'm hoping to gather sufficient evidence at this site that will interest academics to follow up on my work. If recovered stones could be analyzed and confirmed as having originated in Europe then sufficient momentum should be available to solicit funding of an electrical survey of the entire river system in search of piles of copper from ancient wrecks. Find the copper and you have a 2-5,000 year old Mediterranean ship wreck in the interior of North America. Now that would change things a bit.
Any suggestions?
Tom Walter
[email protected]
Comment