World’s oldest shipwreck found off coast of Turkey
Archaeologists say they have found the world’s oldest known shipwreck off Kekova Island, on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. Dating it to the Early Bronze Age places the vessel around the time the Great Pyramid was being built, offering a rare glimpse of ancient seafaring and trade.
The ship was about 10 metres long, but its wooden structure has not survived. More than 30 ceramic storage pots and three stone anchors were found around 30 metres underwater; the pots’ distinctive shape links them to objects dated to 4,400–4,700 years ago. Some pots still contain residue that researchers are examining, while the ship may have been carrying goods towards Troy or Crete.
- A 4,400–4,700-year-old wreck was found off Turkey.
- Its cargo includes more than 30 ceramic pots.
- Residue inside may reveal what the vessel carried.
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In the Early Bronze Age, communities around the eastern Mediterranean traded goods by sea as well as over land. Ships carried cargo between coastal settlements and islands, linking places that are now part of different countries.
The vessel was about 10 metres long, but its timber has not survived. Archaeologists have used the ceramic pots and stone anchors found with it to learn about its age and cargo; the pots’ shapes resemble objects from roughly 4,400 to 4,700 years ago.
The finds offer evidence of how people travelled and traded at a time when the Great Pyramid was being built. Researchers are examining residue in some of the pots, which may help identify what the ship carried.