The anoxic bottom of the Black Sea has a treasure trove of ancient artifacts, some likely dating back to Biblical times. Although the press release calls this recent recovery a "canoe," it looks to be basically a hollowed-out log rather than a constructed canoe, and so could be from a neolithic period (presumably carbon dating is pending).
The bad news is in this paragraph:
The vessel was discovered by fishermen trailing nets along the sea bottom some 15 miles off the coast, said Dimitar Nedkov, head of the Archaeological Museum in the port city of Sozopol.Retrieving archaeological material by separating it from its location diminishes the information that could have been derived by studying it in situ (although at least they had the good sense to turn the item in for study. But even more important, there is nothing more destructive to the bottom of the oceans, seas, and lakes than the "dragging" of nets across the bottom. It's a ruthlessly efficient way to harvest marine bioresources, but it ravages ecosystems that take long periods to regenerate. It's sad how quickly the world's benthic areas are being destroyed.
Dugout log canoes were in common use in America in the New England oyster fisheries up until the mid 1800's (until large logs became rare). Not saying this canoe dates to modern times, just that the design is not necessarily thousands of years old. Fortunately the wood itself will be easier to date than the design.
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