The Black Sea: A History
Robin Milner-Gulland reviews a new title which explores the history, cultures, and politics of the Black Sea area.
Can a sea – the sea itself – have a knowable history? In the case of the Black Sea, probably yes: one of the many strange things about it. Modern research suggests it originated as recently as around 7,500 years ago, when a shallow lake was invaded by sea-water that carved out the Bosphorus. The saltier, denser sea-water sank, forming a toxic, oxygen-free layer that may well have preserved, undecayed, almost every shipwreck the sea has known.
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