Turkey shipwreck dating back 4,700 years identified as oldest ever discovered

Archaeologists working off the southern coast of Turkey have uncovered what is believed to be the oldest shipwreck ever identified, dating back between 4,400 and 4,700 years to the Early Bronze Age. The timeline places the vessel in the same era as the construction of the Great Pyramid in Egypt.

The remains were located along an underwater incline roughly 30 metres deep, near Kekova Island in Antalya province. While the ship's 10-metre wooden hull has long since degraded, researchers recovered more than 30 ceramic amphorae and three large stone anchors that were carried on board.

Because no organic timber survived for radiocarbon testing, researchers established the age of the site by examining the styling and manufacture of the pottery. The containers feature a flat base, a central ridge, and two handles—characteristics that match Early Bronze Age jars previously documented in Egypt and across the Middle East. Professor Hakan Oniz of Akdeniz University, who directed the expedition for the Mediterranean Archaeology Association, confirmed that the distinctive decorations pinpoint the vessel securely to that era.

Specialists examining the recovered jars discovered thick, shiny residues clinging to the interior of several intact vessels. Dr Karin Sowada, an archaeologist with Australia's Macquarie University, said extensive remains of the original cargo were still preserved inside. Scientists are conducting tests to determine whether the jars held olive oil, wine, or tree resins, and noted that such large, durable vessels were frequently emptied and reused over many years.

Researchers believe the merchant vessel set sail from the eastern Mediterranean coastline, likely bound for either the Minoan civilisation on Crete or the ancient city of Troy in what is now north-western Turkey. Strong winds and rough currents around Kekova Island made navigation treacherous, and the area is home to hundreds of ancient wrecks.

Turkey's Ministry of Culture manages the site, and Culture Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy stated that the conserved artefacts will eventually go on public view at the upcoming Mediterranean Underwater Archaeology Museum in Antalya.

The find eclipses the previous record for the world's oldest shipwreck, an approximately 4,200-year-old site found near the Greek island of Dokos. The oldest wreck with its wooden structure still intact remains a 2,400-year-old vessel discovered in the Black Sea off Bulgaria.