(3 Aug 2019) LEAD IN: An international team of archaeologists and explorers set sail from the Black Sea port of Varna.
By boat they will explore trade routes that ancient civilizations used millenniums ago.
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Crew members are adding the final touches to the 14-meter (46-feet) reed boat, Abora IV, as she prepares to set sail from Beloslav lake.
Its unique design is inspired by old Egyptian paintings and constructed using only totora reed and wood.
The reeds were harvested near the Lake Titikaka in Bolivia almost a year ago.
Tied into huge rolls they arrived in Bulgaria earlier this year.
Under the guidance of two members of the Aymara indigenous community from Bolivia's Lake Titicaca, the boat is now near completion.
For the past ten weeks, bundles of reeds have been tied with ropes to create the boat's body.
A wooden mast and two reed huts for the crew were placed has been added on top.
Teodor Rokov, from the Varna Museum of Archaeology is taking part in this marine expedition.
The vessel resembles the two Ra boats that Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl used five decades ago to sail across the Atlantic.
"The reason for this interesting experiment is that this year marks the 50th anniversary of Thor Heyerdahl's journey on his reed ship, Ra," explains Rokov.
In particular, "the purpose of this expedition is to sail the routes that connected the Mediterranean with the Black Sea in ancient times, the time of the Chalcolithic necropolis of Varna," says Rovov.
The ABORA 12-men strong crew includes volunteers from Germany, the USA, Bulgaria, Bolivia, the Netherlands.
He says, "the idea is to show how people of different backgrounds, cultures, and mentalities can coexist and work together."
"The motto of this journey is "Voyage for Peace," because we can see that the current political situation in the Black Sea is strained, and this reed ship could be a perfect ambassador of peace across all seas."
Despite the similarities with ancient vessels the Abora IV has a huge advantage – it is equipped with up-to-date satellite and radio communication devices.
The expedition will be led by German explorer Dominique Goеrlitz who is planning to set sail from from Varna through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, then through the Aegean Sea to Athens.
From there, the maneuverability of the raft will be demonstrated through Greek island hopping to Crete, before heading for the Egyptian port city of Alexandria.
"The main goal of this experiment is to prove that the Greek Argonauts were not the first ones. We have new archaeological evidence that long before the Greek people possibly people from the Minoan civilization, from Egypt and very likely people from the Varna culture sailed these waterways six thousand years ago," explains Goerlitz.
The German explorer explains the voyage aims to test the theory that ancient Egyptian merchants used such vessels to travel far and wide.
It is largely believed in ancients times contact would only have been made by land.
Goerlitz wants to demonstrate that contacts by sea were possible.
"We have new archaeological evidence that long before the Greek people possibly people from the Minoan civilization, also from Egypt and very likely also people from the Varna culture sailed these waterways six thousand years ago and this is what archaeologists are always doubting" says Goerlitz.
The ABORA IV reed boat will have to stay in the harbour in Beloslav for several days to soak before it departs on its adventurous trip.
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