Syracuse, Sicily 2008 Season

The Project
Aurora returned to Syracuse in September 2008 in order to extend the area covered by side scan outside the harbour towards the Plemmirio area as well as to explore a new zone within the Porto Grande, just off the entrance.

Project Operations
In order to achieve the abovementioned objectives, the Trust deployed its Klein System 3900 side scan sonar for all side scan work of this project. Inside the harbour, we used our Klein sub bottom profiler so as to detect anomalies buried in the seabed. All the equipment was deployed from the MV ISIS.

In both survey areas the fish was towed along a series of predetermined lines which ensured the methodical coverage of the entire seabed. During the inner harbour survey the sub bottom and side scan were towed simultaneously.

Finds
This year the side scan survey proved to be rather disappointing although we may have located an ancient shipwreck that has since been scattered by deep sea nets. Inside the harbour, the anomalies are buried in an area that coincides with the ancient river valley that flowed before the end of the last ice age and that is now underwater. Once again, the anomalies in the harbour are located within the first 2 meters of sediment. In the new area the anomalies are not as numerous as last year but we did discover an area where a number of targets are located. It is highly likely that this area coincides with the last and most extensive of the battles fought in 413 BC.

Future Work
Aurora intends to return to Syracuse in the summer of 2009. The main focus of our mission will be the area of concentration discovered in the mouth of Syracuse harbour. It is envisaged that a magnetometer will be deployed so as to verify the magnetic qualities of the various targets from the 2007 and 2008 surveys. Some excavation work may also take place in conjunction with the Superintendence of the Sea.