Ballard has now turned his attention to the Black Sea, which is believed to be the resting place of many well preserved ancient ship wrecks. Chances are good, says Piechota, that the Black Sea will be a future destination for exploration and discovery. Since July, Piechota has been back in his laboratory at the Center for Cultural and Environmental History, where he is surveying the Big Dig artifacts which were placed in the care of UMass Boston in February of 1997. Anthropology Prof. Steven Mrozowski, who was instrumental in bringing the Big Dig collection here and directs the Center, hired Piechota for the massive task of creating a ten-year conservation plan for the 200,000 Colonial and Native American objects in the collection. B.C. Piechota expects to continue working with Ballard in the future.
Estimates are that there are vast numbers of shipwrecks at the bottom of the seas.