What have underwater archaeological surveys suggested about the flooding of the Black Sea?

Recent underwater archaeological surveys have provided significant insights into the geological history of the Black Sea. By combining acoustic mapping with the physical sampling of marine mollusks and extinct freshwater species, researchers have suggested that the inundation of the Black Sea occurred following the collapse of a natural dam that had previously separated it from the Mediterranean.1

This event is consistent with broader geological findings indicating that during the last of the great glaciations, the Black Sea existed as a large freshwater lake. The current connection to the Mediterranean, which introduced salt water to the basin, is believed to have emerged approximately 6,500 to 7,500 years ago.2