A company drilling for natural gas off the coast of Israel has stumbled upon a 3,300-year-old ship on the Mediterranean seabed, with its cargo still intact. The wreck was found about 56 miles (90 kilometers) from shore, which makes it surprising that such an old ship would be found so far from land.
The roughly 40-foot-long (13-meter-long) ship was discovered about a year ago at a depth of 5,900 feet (1,800 meters), surrounded by hundreds of jars. The ship has not been recovered, at least for now, but the Israel Antiquities Authority has retrieved two jars for study. At this depth, the wreck and its contents were not affected by ocean currents or fishermen, leaving the items intact.
“The discovery of this ship completely changes our understanding of the capabilities of ancient seafarers,” Jacob Sharvit, head of the Israel Antiquities Authority’s maritime department, said in a statement. release“This is the first time it has been spotted so far away that no land is visible.”
The recently discovered shipwreck was found much further from the coast than the Late Bronze Age vessels researchers typically find in the region. The discovery is revolutionizing our understanding of ancient seafaring capabilities. Archaeological authorities suggest that the ship may have sunk in a storm or been attacked by pirates and ended up in Davy Jones’ Locker.
This discovery shows that ancient sailors had better navigational skills than previously known, but it’s interesting to take a more objective look at this impressive feat. After all, Polynesian sailors have been colonizing islands in the South and Western Pacific for the past 25,000 years. According to the Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionHowever, both groups almost certainly navigated by relying on the positions of objects in the sky (the sun and stars), even when they could not see land.
The jars recovered from the sunken ship were identified as belonging to the Canaanites, an ancient people who lived in the Levant. 3000 year old comb discovered It contains the first known text in Canaanite writing and is about getting rid of head lice.
Despite its incredible antiquity, distance from land and state of preservation, the Bronze Age shipwreck is not the most famous vessel discovered on the ocean floor this month. That title goes to questlExplorer Ernest Shackleton’s shipIt was discovered near the east coast of Canada after sinking in 1962. Its discovery was made two years later. Discovery of the remains of EndurancePerhaps Shackleton’s most famous ship, it was discovered at an astonishing depth of 9,800 feet (2,987 meters) after sinking in 1915. Endurance The ship was found lying upright on the bottom of the Weddell Sea, remarkably well preserved in waters free of the wood-eating creatures that have ravaged other wrecks. Last year, another wreck, Sunk 129 years ago Ironton—Three masts have been discovered, upright and preserved, at the bottom of Lake Huron.
Of course, what’s even more impressive about the recent discovery is that it’s some 2,900 years older than the wreck that was preserved a century ago, which just goes to show how much history can be gleaned from objects forgotten by everyone but Mother Nature.
more: This is what protects the shipwreck from looters and hackers.
