Vlad the Excavator

Digs & Discoveries November 1, 2011

In addition to judo, shirtless fishing, race-car driving, and chasing whales with a crossbow (that actually happened), Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin now dives for sunken treasure.
SHARE:

In addition to judo, shirtless fishing, race-car driving, and chasing whales with a crossbow (that actually happened), Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin now dives for sunken treasure. While visiting the Taman Peninsula on the Black Sea, site of several ancient Greek trading posts, Putin—accompanied by a media retinue— visited archaeological sites and took in a little scuba diving. Just moments after descending, he "discovered" two broken sixth-century Greek amphorae lightly buried in the silt. "Treasure!" he proclaimed upon surfacing with the finds, after which he treated reporters to an impromptu history lesson about how pots that were broken during transport were tossed overboard.

  • Features November/December 2026

    A Tomb of One’s Own

    Life behind the scenes in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings

    Read Article
    Painted scene from Ipuy's chapel depicting men catching fish from a boat
    © Matjaz Kacicnik/Project TT 217–The Tomb of the Sculptor Ipuy in Context (JGU Mainz, IFAO Cairo)
  • Features November/December 2026

    Outfitting Viking Voyagers

    In Denmark, archaeologists have discovered a massive factory that equipped an innovative fleet

    Read Article
    Aerial view of excavation of three pit house foundations, Soften, Denmark
    Moesgaard Museum
  • Features November/December 2026

    Stone Age Stargazers

    Did artists 12,000 years ago illuminate a cave in Tajikistan with their vision of the Milky Way?

    Read Article
    ˝© Nodir Tursun-Zade
  • Features November/December 2026

    Unearthing the Outlanders

    New discoveries challenge ancient prophecies about the peoples living on China’s borders three millennia ago

    Read Article
    Courtesy Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology