World's oldest shipwreck found off coast of Turkey
Archaeologists have discovered the world's oldest shipwreck, dating back 4,400 to 4,700 years, off the coast of Kekova Island in Turkey. While the wooden hull has decayed, researchers identified the vessel's age by analyzing the style of ceramic amphorae found at the site.
Why it matters
This discovery provides a rare, well-preserved time capsule of Early Bronze Age maritime trade, offering significant insights into ancient Mediterranean commerce.
Figure caption, Artefacts from the ship were found just off the coast of Kekova Island
The world's oldest shipwreck has been discovered off the coast of Turkey, archaeologists say.
They have dated it to between 4,400 and 4,700 years old, which is the Early Bronze Age, and is around the same time that the Great Pyramid was being built.
The ship's wooden structure has not survived, but the ceramic storage pots it was carrying were lying on the sea floor and, remarkably, some still contain traces of what they held inside.
The archaeologists who found the ship say it was about 10m in length and was a trade vessel carrying 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.
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