Archaeologists working off Kekova Island in Turkey say they have found the world's oldest shipwreck, dated to between 4,400 and 4,700 years old. The wreck lies about 30m beneath the waves on an underwater slope, and the ship's wood did not survive.
Hakan Öniz of Akdeniz University led the expedition and described the wreck as a trade vessel from the Early Bronze Age. He said, "The shipwreck is a time capsule at the bottom of the sea" and added, "Comparing the decoration techniques… we can definitely say our wreck is Early Bronze Age. This is 100%."
Kekova Island in Turkey
More than 30 ceramic storage pots called amphorae were found on the sea floor, along with three large stone anchors. The archaeologists said the ship was about 10m in length and was carrying cargo across the Mediterranean Sea.
Karin Sowada of Macquarie University examined the recovered amphorae after they were brought to the surface. Some of the pots were intact, and she said she was surprised to see a viscous, glossy residue inside some of them.
Amphorae dating method
Because none of the ship's wood remained, radiocarbon dating could not be used. The team dated the wreck by analysing the shape of the amphorae, which had two handles, a ridge in the middle and a flat base.
Hakan Öniz said that design matched other amphorae unearthed in Egypt and the Middle East that were known to be 4,400 to 4,700 years old. That comparison placed the wreck in the Early Bronze Age and gave the site its place in the record.
Recovered artefacts
The recovered artefacts are now being carefully conserved after thousands of years underwater. The residue inside some amphorae could help identify what the vessel carried, but the ship itself has already given archaeologists the key fact they needed: a dated trade cargo from a period that also saw the Great Pyramid rise in Egypt and the Middle East.
