Archaeologists identify possible world’s oldest shipwreck off Turkey

Antalya, Turkey. Archaeologists believe a shipwreck discovered off Turkey could be the oldest ever identified worldwide. They date it to the Early Bronze Age, during the period when Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Giza was being built.

Pottery survives beneath the sea

The site is approximately 30 metres underwater near Kekova Island, along Anatolia’s western coast. The expedition, headed by Akdeniz University’s Professor Hakan Oniz, recovered three stone anchors alongside more than 30 ceramic amphorae.

None of the vessel’s wooden framework remains, but the pottery is exceptionally well preserved. Some containers retain traces of what they originally held. Oniz called the discovery “a time capsule at the bottom of the sea”.

Karin Sowada, an archaeologist at Australia’s Macquarie University, said significant quantities of glossy residue remained in some recovered amphorae. Researchers are examining whether the material is olive oil, wine or tree resin, while allowing for the possibility that the vessels were reused over time.

Possible route and planned exhibition

The ship is thought to have departed from the Levant. Its cargo may have been destined for Troy or for Crete’s Minoan civilisation.

Conservation work is under way on the recovered objects. They are expected to be exhibited at Antalya’s new mediterranean underwater archaeological museum, which is due to open within the coming months.

Earlier discoveries

Before this discovery, a wreck off the Greek island of Dokos, dating back approximately 4,200 years, was the oldest known example.

The earliest known intact shipwreck, whose wooden framework survives, was discovered off Bulgaria in the Black Sea and is approximately 2,400 years old.