r/Archaeology • u/TimesandSundayTimes • 3d ago
Uncovered, world’s oldest shipwreck that may have been sailing to Troy
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/history/article/uncovered-oldest-shipwreck-troy-turkey-hpczwq8qt?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Reddit&utm_content=branded23
u/Badgeringlion 3d ago
All I know is they’ll find copper and tin in a 10:1 ratio and that will be another article.
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u/TimesandSundayTimes 3d ago
The world’s oldest shipwreck has been discovered, after archaeologists found debris from a trading vessel that may have sunk on its way to Troy more than four millennia ago.
Sailing through the eastern Mediterranean at about the time the Great Pyramid was being built in Egypt, the ship foundered off the southern coast of Turkey between 4,400 and 4,700 years ago and has been described as “a time capsule at the bottom of the sea”.
No physical remains from the structure of the wooden ship remain, but the seafloor is littered with the ceramic pots and jars that it was carrying, with some still bearing evidence of their contents, to the surprise of scientists.
The record for the world’s oldest known shipwreck previously belonged to debris found near Dokos, an island in southern Greece, from about 4,200 years ago. The oldest wreck where some of the ship’s structure survives dates from 2,400 years ago, found of the Bulgarian coast of the Black Sea.
The Turkish artefacts were found close to the island of Kekova off the Antalyan coast of Turkey, scattered across a slope on the seabed, 30 metres below the surface of the Mediterranean Sea.
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u/stuffcrow 3d ago
Interesting that it was found 30m under - just made me wonder what the depth was at the time it sank. The Med's shrunk since then, right? So one would imagine the water would have been deeper.
Hmm!
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u/JostlingAlmonds 3d ago
I want to give you the benefit of the doubt edpecially versus Google Ai answers, but the global end of an ice age would suggest nothing but a rise in water since the wreck? I hope this doesn't sound arguementative
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u/stuffcrow 2d ago
Absolutely a fair point; I'm basing my assumption off a line I read in 'Weavers, Scribes and Kings' by Amanda H Podany (great book btw) in which she notes the coastline was much further inland. Could just apply to certain areas though, could be a lot of explanations.
Must look into it more when I get the chance! No argumentative-ness taken mate, don't you worry:).
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u/DonCaliente 3d ago edited 3d ago
It may also have been sailing toward somewhere else, we don't know. I hate headlines like these.
ETA - I do wonder what was in those amphorae. How long do those resin tests usually take?