LIGHTHOUSE STORIES - DEEP END OF DARKNESS (PART ONE)

It is a scientific fact that most of our oceans are completely unexplored and many of its secrets are hidden in a plain sight.
We have some ancient legends and myths telling stories that are too fantastical both to understand and believe. So, everything ends there, with some ancient story nobody cares about.

This story is based on true events, and in case you are easily influenced please do not read any further.

I can freely admit I was never too comfortable being inside of a water or around it. One of the reasons are numerous warnings and banns my parents imposed in a constant fear of a freak accident. Children known as the good swimmers had accidents and in some cases, they didn't end up good.

From that reason alone I learned to swim rather late at the age of ten. I was never a great swimmer, but it was obvious that I was gifted with something else.
I had a natural ability to sink as a champion and become an extremely good diver. I have naturally big lungs in comparison to my size, so holding breath and diving is an easy task for me. Even today I dive much better than I swim. I usually just float around and pretend to be the Flying Dutchman, lol.

While I was a child and a teen, during summer holidays my cousins were staying with us and I would usually accompany them wherever they would go to dive or to swim. But, for security, I was always 'driving' our inflated huge inner tube of a truck tire. It kept us safe and it served as a resting position while we were diving seashells.

My parents approved this security measurement because it was safer in case anyone would get a cramp, and they couldn't be with us all the time.

We had an inflatable boat, but it was the pain in a neck to inflate, deflate and for some reason it was sun-sensitive, so we opt for a discarded tube that was lighter and easier to move around.

One day our older cousin told us to go shell hunting after a sand dredger. The sand dredger is a type of a boat or a barge that is used for the underwater excavation or simply for picking sediment for some construction purpose. These boats would leave a big hole behind and my cousin wanted to go there and see what we could dig out for a 'trophy'.

I mean, the seashells are the most average trophy you could find on holidays, but what if we could find a real treasure.

Little we knew that our sea hunt for a treasure will turn in a nightmare sooner than we expected.

My father's warnings to keep close to the shore and safe were of little use. As soon he was out of the sight we were up to something.

Also, I noticed one thing that puzzled me. The same barge was attending the same place a few times, which was kind of weird. I thought it would be easier to pick another spot that is less deep, right?

Of course, we went to see that hole. A hole was kind of big and the bottom was already covered in sea trash, weed and usual things that you can find on any sand seabed.

My cousin went down to check and soon dived out holding a piece of the ceramics in his hand and asked us if we know what it is. We had no idea but that was a piece of a very, very old vase.

He just lifted a 2000 years old or more shard of an amphora, and he wanted us to organize and to get more of these things.

These things are valued nothing if they are pieces in question but a whole thing is mighty expensive.

And I am not saying a petty replica from ebay that you can buy for a few bucks. I am talking a real thing lifted from a seabed with a sealed content of wine, olive oil, and ointments that were stored for 2 thousand years.

Prepare your saliva glands, because I will just disclose a the bounty price.

I think that a captain of a barge was after another ship because one piece of Greek amphora with the confirmed origin, dating that long back in history is even priced up to 150 000 British pounds, content excluded.

So, we organized a little diving pod and decided to go full Indiana Jones style searching for the ancient treasures.

It was a tight race between us and a captain of a barge who will find a winning item the first.

The two of my cousins would dig on the bottom and sides of a hole, bring the pieces halfway, gave it to me and I would toil them either on our resting tire 'donut' or directly on the shore while they would go up for the air or return to get more, depending how deep and how tired they were.

Soon, we had a huge collection of crumpled ancient pottery lined up in our backyard. But, not the main thing.

My father waved his hand in disbelief telling us to leave that crazy job, a barge will probably break it. It was an admirable attempt but the chances to score were very slim.

So, where are the boats, I asked my imaginary friends while my cousins and family was having a hard case of acute barbecue in the front yard.

At that age, I was already a writer, and I definitely didn't lack either questions or imaginary friends.

All rots with time, it has been 2 thousand years or more, my apparitions answered. Still, no wood, no iron, no human remains, just a pile of ceramics.

The barge visited other locations and I and cousins were tailing the captain like vultures. But, wherever we dived, there was the same shredded pottery. It was like the whole bottom was covered with it.

It was a bit disappointing. Once we thought we have it, but it was only the neck... That piece alone almost sunk me because it was very heavy.

So, how did all those ships all sunk here? I asked myself in disbelief that so many ships could shore and there are no underwater rocks, cliffs, and a whole shoreline is shallow, sandy and non-intrusive.

Maybe wind get them?
How come? The only wind that sinks ship blows in a completely opposite direction. They shouldn't even be there.

Maybe the pirates.
Pirates would take the gains, they wouldn't leave the cargo. And a shoreline doesn't actually give any place for an ambush, unless during the night.

History briefing.

I know that Roman Empire had some issues with Illyrian piracy, but the pottery we found didn't look as it belonged to that era and resembled more to the Greek poetry.

I don't remember any major naval routes between Greece and that part of Adriatic ever taking place. All Greek settlements were predominantly in the south part.
The only conflict possible could occur between Greek fleet and one of the Illyrian kingdoms.
But, on that specific location, there were no recorded strategic positions until much later times. It is in the middle of a nowhere.
So, why so many ships sunk there?

No matter how deep the barges went, they never lifted or uncovered any bigger object or any human remains.
It would be in local news aka. the local cafeteria.
But, nothing.
We also never found anything like wood, iron or human bones, just pottery and we never found a single whole piece or the pottery that was recently cracked.

All of that was smashed a long time ago. It looked like somebody put vases in a grinder and just soil the seabed.

I spent days searching along the shore hoping to find the same cracked remains because some of that ceramics should end up shored.

Nothing. It was like the whole concentration of ceramics was in between 50-ish and 100 meters away from the shore under layers of the sand.

The more I was thinking about this, the more uncomfortable and suspicious I was becoming. On each next expedition, I was keeping myself more and more away from the barge's trenches' and holes' edges.

My cousins accused me of being a coward, as I lost the appetite for treasure hunting.
I had a really good practical reason to be careful, to start with a lot of mud and rattle attracts bigger fish.
Seeing stuff in past, no wonder I was fed up with the treasure hunting so soon.

I know that a few carcasses swam out at that period of the time, but the people ascribed it to the speedboats not paying attention and swimmers being irresponsible.
The fishermen dragged a body out of a water. It was a man who was found missing some time ago. His entire body was decomposing and he was covered in sea creatures readily cleaning what was left of him.
One decade later I was studying these things. Bodies in water decompose slower than ones on the air. So, why the hell that unfortunate fellow ended up as a steaming pile of molasses in such a short time?

So, despite my cousins calling me a coward, I decided to play in the sand instead. Now, that was a funny sight and I know what you will say, but you are forgetting that we were 3 kids in the middle of nowhere, with nobody around. So, in short, I couldn't care less than an even lesser now how funny it all looked like.

The pattern of the crashed and almost grated ceramics was giving me pictures of something disturbing and tantalizing to even think about.

Continuing with my story...

...but first ... a block of commercials from our beloved sponsor!!!

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