Who was George Bass, the pioneer of underwater archeology?

Pioneering archaeologist George Bass, who played a critical role in the creation and development of underwater archeology as a scientific discipline, died in Texas on March 2, 2021, at the age of 88.

At the time of his death, Bass was a consultant to the Institute of Maritime Archeology (INA), the world's leading research institute for the study of shipwrecks, which he founded in 1972. The institute is now headquartered at Texas A&M University, where Bass, a respected professor emeritus, developed one of the first academic underwater archeology programs.

Bass was a graduate student in archeology at the University of Pennsylvania in 1960 when he was asked to research an ancient shipwreck discovered by Turkish sponge divers off Cape Gelidonya in southern Turkey.

The 3,200-year-old Gelidonya shipwreck, which basically carried a load of copper ingots, was the first shipwreck to be mapped on the seafloor and fully excavated scientifically. At that time it was the oldest known shipwreck in the world.

This title changed in the early 1980s with the discovery and excavation of the Uluburun shipwreck in southern Turkey. Bass' team has documented and excavated an extraordinary collection of artifacts dating to the 14th century BC, including valuable objects from the Near East and Europe, illuminating the complexity of trade in the ancient world.

Prior to digging the first shipwreck in 1960, Bass' only diving experience involved several turns in a YMCA pool. However, while investigating dozens of shipwrecks dating from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages, he showed that the scientific rigor of land-based archaeological techniques could be replicated in harsh underwater environments by archaeologists equipped with scubas.

“We didn't come here to do sports or dive for treasure,” Bass said in an interview in 1963. “Our goal was to go underwater as archaeologists work on land: dig layer by layer, documenting each object before moving it or lifting it to the surface.”

Born on December 9, 1932, in Columbia, South Carolina, George Fletcher Bass was the son of a professor and a writer, and his influence can be seen in the hundreds of articles and books the archaeologist has published throughout his career. Most importantly, Bass wrote intelligible to general audiences and non-experts alike, starting with the first articles he wrote. This aroused great interest in the developing discipline.

Under Bass's guidance, INA expanded its work across geographic regions and historical periods, from Revolutionary War-era ships on Lake Champlain to an Ottoman frigate in Japan. In the 1990s, INA established a research center in Bodrum consisting of Turkish archaeologists and conservators.

Bass received the National Medal of Science in 2002, the highest award for lifetime achievement in national scientific research.

After Bass' death, INA released the following statement: "We are deeply saddened to announce the death of our founder and dear friend, George Bass, Honorary Professor at Texas A&M University, Founder of the Institute of Marine Archeology and Father of Underwater Archeology."

The Most Important Shipwreck Ever

These two Bronze Age ships, the oldest shipwrecks excavated in the world, were found off the coast of Antalya with their cargo. The Gelidonya wreck, excavated in 1960, was the first ancient shipwreck to be completely removed from the seabed. Dating back 3200 years, the ship was the property of a Cypriot or Syrian itinerant blacksmith. More than a ton of ingots, scrap copper tools, weapons, metal-making materials, and other similar finds were unearthed from the wreck.

The finds convinced the first excavation chief, George Bass, known as the father of underwater archeology, that the Mycenaean trade was not dominated by the Mediterranean. Objects of Greek origin found at several land settlements gave rise to the view that Mediterranean trade was dominated by the Mycenaeans, but George Bass thought that Middle Eastern seafarers or proto-Phoenicians were more likely to rule the ancient seas and trade.

This thesis was born from the discovery of the Uluburun shipwreck, which was excavated between 1984-1994. The Uluburun shipwreck was dated even earlier, 3330 years ago. The Canaanite or Cypriot ship carried a wide variety of raw materials and luxury goods from 11 distant ancient cultures from the Baltic Sea to Equatorial Africa, from the Mediterranean to the Middle East. As a result of meticulous studies, parts of the body of this oldest shipwreck were also found.

Continuing research by excavation director Cemal Pulak confirms Bas's thesis and points to the existence of a complex and highly developed maritime trade network dominated by the proto-Phoenicians 3,000 years ago.