A special report from ICMM Executive Council Member, Dr Fred Hocker
In June 2023, Russian forces destroyed the dam at Kakhovka on the lower Dnipro River in Ukraine. This drained the man-made lake behind it, a 360 km stretch of the river covering over 2,000 square kilometres, exposing thousands of historic and prehistoric sites submerged since the 1950s. Among those finds are the remains of a fleet of river transports built for a 1735-1739 war between the Russian and Ottoman empires; these had been based at the island of Khortytsa, near modern-day Zaporizhzhia, until they were abandoned in the winter of 1738. Hundreds of vessels, mostly troop transports, lie in the old channel of the river along the original shoreline, which is now exposed. The archaeological and conservation staff of the Khortytsa National Reserve (an ICMM member) carried out a survey of exposed remains around the island and stabilized objects threatened by erosion from the now faster-flowing water of the river.
One of the sites exposed in 2023 was the bow of a troop transport. It lay at the water’s edge, where it was being undermined by high water and current in the spring floods, so the decision was made to excavate the vessel and remove it to a conservation facility. Other wrecks located in the survey could be stabilized in place or were not under immediate threat. The wreck, located at the foot of a cliff (Naumova Rock) on the western side of the island, lay on its port side and included about a third of the original vessel, preserved from the keel up to the railing. Ground penetrating radar and diver surveys indicate that the entire beach at Naumova, over 100 metres long, conceals a row of vessels, drawn up on the shore in 1738, with a second row in the water.
Image 2: Kseniya Kobaliia – State of the excavation after the team had started to dismantle the fragile part of the wreck.
The Reserve appealed for assistance at the 2024 ICMM Congress in the Netherlands, and the Maritime Archaeology Committee responded by offering to recruit volunteers and raise funds for a rescue excavation. The project was directed jointly by Dmitro Kobaliia, the head of the archaeological department at the Reserve, and Fred Hocker, from the National Maritime and Transport Museums of Sweden (SMTM), with financial support from SMTM and an anonymous donor.
In August 2025, a team of over a dozen archaeologists, including four ICMM volunteers from Sweden and the US, established a camp on the beach above the wreck and spent three weeks excavating the vessel and preparing it for transport. The excavation expanded from the visible remains to include what were originally thought to be loose planks from the wreck but turned out to be a second vessel, dismantled and piled on the beach. This second vessel lies sufficiently deep in the sand that it was possible to rebury it after documentation, to await more detailed work once the security situation improves.
The first vessel was fully excavated, revealing a relatively complete structure on its port side, although broken into two parts. Although the hulls had been largely stripped when they were abandoned, some traces of their equipment and the military forces they had once transported remained, such as rigging elements, rope, ammunition, and even a complete smoothbore musket and bayonet. The excavation also turned up evidence of later military activity, such as unexploded ammunition from World War II.
After partial dismantling of loose and fragile elements, the two main pieces of the hull were moved into the river, where they could be buoyed and towed upstream a few hundred meters to a conservation facility established to store them until conservation measures can begin.
The project was not without its risks. During August, Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine increased to their highest level since the full-scale invasion began in 2022. Zaporizhzhia, where the team lived, was subjected to missiles, glide bombs, and drones almost every night. These destroyed the main bus station, a clinic, a supermarket, several apartment buildings, and interrupted rail service.
The Reserve and the regional government in Zaporizhzhia are committed to preserving the cultural heritage of the river, and plan to establish an international archaeological research and preservation centre for the lower Dnipro. ICMM has agreed to be one of the founding partners of this endeavour.
Listen to a 6 minute interview by NPR radio about the project here