Discovery of the Oldest Shipwreck

Remains of the oldest shipwreck ever discovered in deep water, and perhaps the oldest complete wreck in any water, have been located in the Mediterranean Sea about 56 miles off the coast of northern Israel.

Historical Significance

The Israel Antiquities Authority announced that the preliminary examination of two clay jars known as Canaanite amphorae indicated that the merchant vessel, estimated to be 39 to 46 feet long, sank sometime between 1400 B.C. and 1300 B.C. This period marked the height of the Egyptian empire, including the reign of Tutankhamun.

Whether the galley was the victim of a sudden storm, a wayward wind, or attempted piracy remains unclear. The remotely operated submersible robot recorded footage showing the well-preserved craft settled at the bottom without capsizing, with its hold containing hundreds of intact storage jars.

Cemal Pulak, a nautical archaeologist at Texas A&M University, emphasized the significance of the discovery, stating, “I consider any Bronze Age shipwreck discovery to be a very important one as shipwrecks of this period are extremely rare.”

Only two other wrecks with cargo are known from the late Bronze Age in the Mediterranean, both found off the Turkish coast relatively close to the shore and accessible using standard diving gear. The most recent discovery occurred in 1982, making the new find a remarkable addition to Bronze Age maritime archaeology.

The shipwreck was detected last summer at a depth of about a mile during a survey conducted by Energean, a London-based company, as part of their natural gas field development efforts. The area where the ship was found had been a subject of territorial dispute between Israel and Lebanon until a 2022 agreement placed it under Israeli control.