News

ANTALYA, TURKEY—BBC News reports that a Bronze Age shipwreck identified near Kekova Island off the coast of Turkey has been dated to between 4,400 and 4,700 years ago. None of the ship has survived, but its cargo of more than 30 amphoras rests on the seafloor, under some 100 feet of water. Hakan Öniz of Akdeniz University said that the style of the amphoras, which matches that of other vessels unearthed in Egypt and the Middle East, was used to date the wreckage. The size of the cargo suggests that the ship was originally about 30 feet long. Three large stone anchors have also been found. Karin Sowada of Macquarie University said that her team is analyzing residues detected in some of the intact amphoras. “It could be olive oil, it could be wine, it could be tree resins,” she said. The researchers suggest that the trade ship left a port in the eastern Mediterranean and was traveling to northwestern Turkey or Crete when it sank in the dangerous waters near the island. To read about the most famous Bronze Age shipwrecks found off the Turkish coast, go to “History's 10 Greatest Wrecks: Cape Gelidonya and Uluburun.”

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