A Time Capsule Beneath the Waves

Archaeologists working off the southern coast of Turkey have announced the discovery of what is now believed to be the oldest shipwreck ever found. Located close to the shore of Kekova Island in Antalya province, the wreck lies roughly 30 meters below the surface, its artifacts scattered across an underwater slope. Researchers estimate that the vessel sank between 4,400 and 4,700 years ago, during the Early Bronze Age – roughly the same era in which the Great Pyramid of Egypt was under construction.

Unusually, none of the ship’s wooden hull has survived. This absence posed a considerable challenge, because radiocarbon dating, a technique that measures a form of carbon in organic material, could not be applied. Instead, the team relied on the cargo itself. More than 30 ceramic storage jars, known as amphorae, were recovered alongside three large stone anchors; ships of the period carried spare anchors on long voyages. The jars have a distinctive design – two handles, a ridge around the middle and a flat base – which closely resembles amphorae unearthed in Egypt and the Middle East that are known to date from the same period. On this basis, expedition leader Professor Hakan Öniz of Akdeniz University described the Early Bronze Age date as certain.

Perhaps the most striking finding concerns what remains inside the jars. Dr. Karin Sowada of Macquarie University, who examined the recovered amphorae, was astonished to discover that several intact vessels still contained a thick, glossy residue. Possible contents include olive oil, wine or tree resins, although she cautions that the residue may reflect repeated reuse, since such large containers were typically emptied and refilled over many years. Work is now under way to identify exactly what the jars held.

The discovery also sheds light on maritime trade in the ancient Mediterranean. The researchers believe the ten-meter vessel set sail from the eastern Mediterranean coast and was heading either to the city of Troy, in present-day north-western Turkey, or to the Minoan civilization on Crete. The waters around Kekova were notoriously hazardous: strong currents and winds have claimed hundreds of ships there. Because of the depth, divers could remain at the site for only 30 minutes at a time.

The find displaces the previous record holder, a wreck off the Greek island of Dokos dated to about 4,200 years ago. The recovered artifacts, which are now undergoing careful conservation, are expected to go on display at the new Mediterranean Underwater Archaeology Museum in Antalya when it opens in the coming months.