From BBC News · · 2m
World's oldest shipwreck found off Turkey
Archaeologists have discovered a trade vessel dated to 4,400-4,700 years ago off Kekova Island, with cargo still intact on the sea floor.
In brief
Archaeologists have discovered a trade vessel dated to 4,400-4,700 years ago off Kekova Island, with cargo still intact on the sea floor. Archaeologists found the world's oldest shipwreck off Turkey, dated to between four thousand four hundred and four thousand seven hundred years ago, with ceramic storage pots and…
Oldest shipwreck ever found
Archaeologists have discovered the world's oldest shipwreck off Kekova Island in Turkey, dated to between four thousand four hundred and four thousand seven hundred years old, from the Early Bronze Age.
A time capsule at sea
The wooden ship structure did not survive, but ceramic storage pots on the sea floor still contain traces of what they held inside. Prof Hakan Öniz from Akdeniz University led the expedition.
“The shipwreck is a time capsule at the bottom of the sea.”
What lay on the sea floor
The wreck lies just thirty metres beneath the waves off Kekova Island in Antalya. Divers found three large stone anchors and more than thirty ceramic storage pots called amphorae scattered across an underwater slope.
Dating the ancient vessel
Without surviving wood, archaeologists could not use radiocarbon dating. Instead they analysed the amphorae shape. The Kekova ceramics are distinctive with two handles, a ridge in the middle and a flat base.
Matching ancient pottery styles
Prof Öniz matched the Kekova ceramics to amphorae unearthed in Egypt and the Middle East known to be four thousand four hundred to four thousand seven hundred years old.
“Comparing the decoration techniques… we can definitely say our wreck is Early Bronze Age. This is one hundred percent.”
Cargo still preserved inside
Dr Karin Sowada from Macquarie University examined the recovered amphorae and found some still contained a viscous, glossy residue.The team is working to determine what was being carried, possibly olive oil, wine or tree resins.
“I looked inside and nearly fainted. I could not believe how much [residue] was visible.”
Ancient trade routes revealed
The ship started its voyage from somewhere along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean. Archaeologists believe it was taking goods to either the ancient city of Troy in north-western Turkey or to the Minoan people…
Museum display coming soon
The shipwreck is owned by the Turkish Ministry of Culture. Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said the recovered artefacts will be displayed in the new Mediterranean Underwater Archaeology Museum in Antalya when it opens in the…
The one thing
Archaeologists found the world's oldest shipwreck off Turkey, dated to between four thousand four hundred and four thousand seven hundred years ago, with ceramic storage pots and stone anchors still on the sea floor.
