Media Advisory

Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2000. Turkey’s Minister of Culture Dr. Istemihan Talay has granted the National Geographic Black Sea expedition a permit to recover artifacts from the sea floor. The permit was presented to Society Executive Vice President Terry Garcia at a news conference attended by Turkish TV and print media in Ankara, Turkey, on Tuesday, Sept. 19. Dr. Alpay Tasinli, Director General of the General Directorate of Monuments and Museums of the Ministry of Culture, Terry Garcia and chief archaeologist of the Black Sea project Fredrik Hiebert also participated.

The announcement by the Turkish government comes on the heels of Robert Ballard’s discovery of what appears to be remnants of human habitation more than 300 feet below the surface of the Black Sea, approximately 12 miles off the Turkish shore. Evidence suggests these people must have thrived in a coastal setting before a catastrophic flood inundated the area many thousands of years ago.

“We are pleased to be working closely with the Turkish government toward our mutual scientific goals. We are grateful for their prompt action on this matter,” said National Geographic Society President John Fahey.

Ballard said he was delighted that the permit had been granted. “We can now move forward to the next phase of the expedition, which is the dating process to establish the age of the artifacts we recover. I thank the Minister of Culture and the Turkish government for their collaboration,” he said.

The schedule for the recovery of any artifacts has not yet been set. The expedition is due to conclude at the end of September.

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