The underwater surveys in Chengene skele bay near the town have been completed. Burgas

In the month of June 2024 with the funds of the Municipality of Burgas, underwater searches of archaeological sites in Chengene Skele Bay were carried out. They were organized by the Regional Historical Museum – Burgas.

The studies were carried out by a team of the National History Museum under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Ivan Hristov. 5 areas located at different locations in the bay were surveyed. Dozens of fragments of glass objects were found here in 2020 and 2021. It was established that the shoal is at a depth of -2 - -2.5 m, with an area of about 15 decares with a stony bottom. It has been suggested that the glass may have been a cargo spilled from a boat or ship during a storm and high swell, which was further enhanced by the shallows and jutting rocks. The probability that the wreckage of the ship carrying the glass vessels is near the location of the discovery of the glass fragments is very high. The basis for this hypothesis is provided by several fragments of iron anchor chains and highly fragmented ceramic vessels found underwater, bearing traces of ceramic production in general for the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance.Until the start of this year's underwater expedition, the collections of glass finds from the commented area of the National History Museum and the Regional History Museum - Burgas included 310 fragmented and whole vessels, which were diligently described and published. In June 2024 112 new whole and fragmented glass vessels were discovered. The success of the diving team is the localization of the area with the greatest concentration of glass finds.The new finds are an important source of information on the understudied topic of glass consumption, trade and production in the Balkans during the Late Ottoman period. Until now, the hypothesis has been proposed that vessels were most likely produced in a workshop on the island of Murano, Venice, in the second half of the 16th century. or the beginning of the 17th century. Here, the question of the exact dating of the glass objects and the possible shipwreck remains open, especially since the area around the reef has not been further explored.

A zone with a concentration of fragments of pottery from the Hellenistic era
The second area was marked by the accidental discovery of a ceramic cluster west of the glass area. It reaches the shallow part of the western shore of the bay and varies in depth from 5 to 1.5 m. On an area of 100 sq. m. a ceramic assemblage with fragments of Hellenistic building and household ceramics was discovered. Among the finds, we should highlight a small lead rod from the Roman era and a stone fishing weight.

Area around Cape Chiroza.
It is located east of Cape Chiroza and covers an area of approximately 400 square meters. m. Visibility was low during the underwater surveys. A large deposit of sand was found. Unlike previous surveys, the area is devoid of finds except for fragments of Hellenistic building pottery and stone war cores.

Area 4. Late medieval wharf (pier) Cengene pier
The main pier in Chengene Bay was located at the southeastern end of the bay of the same name and 1 km southwest of today's Fisherman's Village. This harbor is often commented on in the preserved written records of European diplomats from the 18th-19th centuries. On land, from this area begins the area of Kumyurluka - a place from which charcoal was loaded 100-200 years ago. The inspection revealed a concentration of fragments of late antique and medieval amphorae. Among the medieval objects, parts of type III Gunsenin amphorae dating back to the 12th-13th centuries have been identified. In fact, the ceramic finds prove an established thousand-year tradition in the utilization of this part of the bay for loading and unloading activities.

Zone 5. Monastery Port
For t. called monastery port opposite the island of St. Anastasia on the mainland mentions Eve. Karayotov. According to him, the medieval metoch "St. George" was located on Cape Chukalya, adjacent to the monastery port serving the island of St. Anastasia. Information on the subject can be found in the manuscript from 1884. of the Burgas revivalist Stoyan Shivachev. He mentions that "to the east, it (Chengene rock) borders the small Borun Chokalya, where there is also the monastery's small harbor and the monastery's metoh and koria.... In the old days, this monastery was much more prosperous than now, and then, in addition to the multitude of harnessed and towed cattle, it also had a small marina - small and large boats and kayaks and many guests of fishermen, of which there are still several today." But where exactly was this relocated second monastic port located? On the Bulgarian military map from 1907. east of Cape Chukalyata is marked St. Anastasia. The sea approach to the island of St. Anastia arose from the small bay of Buhos located between Cape Karemidar Burun and Cape Chukalyata. The bay is protected from the north by Cape Chukalyata. According to Dimitar Yanchev (Chairman of the Fishermen's Association "Morski Svovor"), a large well was built here. During an underwater inspection in the bay, fragments of ceramic vessels from the XVIII-XIX centuries, as well as parts of late antique amphorae, were found. An iron horn from an anchor was also discovered.

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