World's oldest shipwreck found off coast of Turkey
Archaeologists say the wreck is up to 4,700 years old, dating to the Early Bronze Age.
World’s oldest shipwreck discovered off Turkey’s coast
Archaeologists say the world’s oldest shipwreck has been found off the coast of Turkey.
They have dated it to between 4,400 and 4,700 years old, placing it in the Early Bronze Age and around the same period when the Great Pyramid was under construction.
The vessel’s wooden frame has not survived, but the ceramic storage jars it was carrying were found on the seabed and, remarkably, some still preserve traces of their contents.
The archaeologists who uncovered the wreck say it was about 10m long and was a trading ship transporting cargo across the Mediterranean Sea.
“The shipwreck is a time capsule at the bottom of the sea,” said Prof Hakan Öniz, from Akdeniz University in Turkey, who led the Mediterranean Archaeology Association expedition.
The divers found three stone anchors, as ships carried spares on long voyages
The wreck lies near the shore of Kekova Island in Antalya, Turkey. The objects are scattered across an underwater slope, just 30m below the surface.
Three large stone anchors were recovered, along with more than 30 ceramic storage pots, known as amphorae.
Because none of the ship’s wood remained, methods such as radiocarbon dating - which measures a form of carbon in organic materials - could not be used to establish its age.
Instead, archaeologists studied the shape of the amphorae. Since pottery styles change over time, different forms are associated with specific periods.
The Kekova ceramics are distinctive, with two handles, a ridge in the middle and a flat base.
Öniz said this design matched other amphorae found in Egypt and the Middle East that were known to be 4,400-4,700 years old.
“Comparing the decoration techniques… we can definitely say our wreck is Early Bronze Age. This is 100%.”
Divers from the expedition brought the pots to the surface, where they are now being carefully conserved after thousands of years underwater.
Dr Karin Sowada, an archaeologist from Macquarie University, Australia, examined the amphorae after they were recovered. Some were intact and she was surprised to find they still contained a viscous, glossy residue.
“I looked inside and nearly fainted. I could not believe how much [residue] was visible. It wasn't just like spots…. a lot of this material was still remaining,” she said.
The team is now trying to determine exactly what was being carried in the amphorae.
“It could be olive oil, it could be wine, it could be tree resins,” Sowada said.
“It’s possible that [the residue] could actually be the result of reuse of the jars. I mean, these jars are huge - they're not things that you just ship away and then never see again. People would have emptied these jars on arrival and potentially used them for many, many, many years.”
The wreck and its cargo are also offering new insight into trade in the ancient world.
The archaeologists say the ship began its journey from somewhere along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean.
They believe it was carrying goods either to the ancient city of Troy, in what is now north-western Turkey, or to the Minoan people in Crete.
Sea travel was dangerous, especially around Kekova Island, where strong currents and winds have claimed many ships.
There are hundreds of wrecks in the area, and the Mediterranean Archaeology Association specialises in locating and studying them.
Öniz says that when he dives on the wreck, his first thoughts are about the lives of the people connected to the vessel.
“We are the first humans who [have] touched these objects after 5,000 years.
“We are always thinking of the sailors... the producers of the amphora and the person who carried the amphora on their shoulders to the ship, and the women who were waiting for their husbands, and they unfortunately couldn't go back.”
The shipwreck belongs to the Turkish Ministry of Culture. Its minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said the recovered artefacts would be displayed in the new Mediterranean Underwater Archaeology Museum in Antalya when it opens in the coming months.
The depth meant the divers could only spend 30 minutes at a time exploring it
The Kekova discovery now leads the list of the world’s oldest shipwrecks.
Until now, the record holder was a wreck off the coast of Dokos, an island in southern Greece, dating to about 4,200 years ago.
The oldest known intact shipwreck, with its wood still preserved, was found in the Black Sea off the coast of Bulgaria. It dates to about 2,400 years ago.