In brief
A team of divers and archaeologists has uncovered what is now the world’s oldest known shipwreck, dating back 4,400‑4,700 years. The wreck, lying 30 m off Kekova Island, features a 10‑metre wooden hull and more than 30 ceramic amphorae that still contain trace residues. By analysing pottery styles, scholars placed the wreck in the Early Bronze Age, alongside the construction of the Great Pyramid. The cargo and anchors suggest the vessel was engaged in Mediterranean trade, likely heading toward Troy or the Minoan islands. The find is expected to be displayed in a new underwater archaeology museum in Antalya once it opens.
An extraordinary discovery was made off the coast of Turkey’s Kekova Island, where a 4,400‑to‑4,700‑year‑old shipwreck lies 30 meters beneath the sea. The wreck is considered the world’s oldest known, eclipsing the previous record of a 4,200‑year‑old site off Greece.
The wreck measures roughly 10 metres in length and shows no surviving wooden structure, but more than 30 ceramic amphorae were recovered, carrying cargo that likely consisted of olive oil, wine or resin. Some amphorae still contain shiny, glossy residues, leaving scientists to speculate on their original contents and the possibility of reuse after the ship’s presumed suicide or wreck.
Since the ancient wood cannot be dated via radiocarbon, the age was established by comparing the amphorae’s distinctive two‑handle, ridge‑and‑flat‑base style to similar pottery found in Egypt and the Middle East from the same era. The design matches amphorae excavated from 4,400‑to‑4,700‑year‑old sites, confirming a 100 % Early Bronze Age dating.
The divers revealed three stone anchors and a strewn field of pottery on a gentle underwater slope, only 30 meters under the surface. The depth restricted dive time to about 30 minutes per session, making each rescue and cataloguing effort painstakingly slow.
According to Prof Hakan Öniz of Akdeniz University, the ship was probably carrying goods from the eastern Mediterranean to either Troy or Minoan Crete. The expedition’s route maps indicate a likely path from the Anatolian coast around Kekova to the western Aegean, aligning with known trade routes of the period.
Experts are now working to determine exactly what the amphorae held, with possibilities ranging from olive oil to wine to tree resins. The residue analysis might also reveal whether the jars were reused after their initial loading.
The Turkish Ministry of Culture plans to exhibit the recovered artifacts in the new Mediterranean Underwater Archaeology Museum in Antalya, whose opening is soon expected.
With its ancient cargo intact, the Kekova wreck offers a remarkable window into early maritime commerce and the lives of sailors, producers, and families connected to these vessels more than five millennia ago.
