Shipwrecks are fascinating to me, and I didn't realize how far back the oldest shipwreck discovered went! You'll be surprised, too. Here's the story from 1440 news.
Earliest Deep-Sea Shipwreck found in Mediterranean |
The oldest shipwreck ever found in the deep sea has been discovered on the Mediterranean Sea floor, shedding light on trade during the late Bronze Age. The 39- to 46-foot-long ship was found roughly 56 miles off the northern coast of Israel at a depth of nearly 6,000 feet during a seafloor survey by a natural gas exploration company.
The wreck contained hundreds of intact Canaanite amphorae—clay jars used to store goods—suggesting it sank between 1400 BCE and 1300 BCE. The deep-sea discovery challenges assumptions that Bronze Age trade occurred only close to shorelines and suggests mariners may have used celestial navigation. While the exact cause of the sinking remains unknown, the ship settled without capsizing, and experts speculate a storm or pirate attack could have been responsible.
 The cargo was spotted by robot submersibles belonging to the oil and gas firm Energean which was looking for potential new energy sources off the Israeli coast. Cameras picked up "what seemed to be a large pile of jugs heaped on the seafloor", according to the company's Karnit Bahartan. |
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