Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a shipwreck dated 4,400–4,700 years old off the island of Kekova in the Mediterranean Sea. The find near the Demre region in the Antalya province is considered the oldest known shipwreck in the world.
The wooden structure of the vessel has not been preserved. Its age has been determined by ceramic vessels and stone anchors found on the seabed, which are dated to 2,600–2,400 BC. This places the sinking around the time the Great Pyramid of Giza was built.
Amphorae at 30 meters deep
The study was led by underwater archaeologist Hakan Yönüz of Akdeniz University in Antalya. The amphorae were found at a depth of about 30 meters, scattered on the seabed, which is covered in sand in some places and rocks in others.
Some of the vessels have two handles and resemble Early Bronze Age pottery found in the Levant, a historical region that encompasses parts of present-day Lebanon, Syria, Israel and Palestine. According to archaeologists, one of the amphorae was probably used to transport agricultural products, including wine and olive oil.
“The upper part of this amphora has two parallel lines drawn with a sharp tool, as well as a zigzag decoration in the middle part“, the authors of the study write.Traces of ancient trade
Two stone anchors with three holes and one with one hole were found near the shipwreck. They resemble anchors found at other archaeological sites from the Bronze Age.
“The stone anchors with three holes found in the area of the shipwreck are reminiscent of those from Minoan, Cypriot, Anatolian and Levantine contexts from the Bronze Age“, the archaeologists point out. According to them, the single-hole anchor has similarities to finds on the coasts of Anatolia and the Levant.
The discovered objects indicate that the vessel was likely part of a trade route through the Eastern Mediterranean. The study of the find was published in the Journal of Maritime Archaeology, and archaeologists expect further studies to provide more information about the ship, its cargo and maritime connections during the Early Bronze Age.
Sources: unian.net, independent.co.uk