World’s oldest shipwreck found off coast of Turkey

Archaeologists working off the coast of Turkey have found a shipwreck dating back around 4,700 years, making it the oldest in the world.

A number of ancient storage vessels known as amphorae were recovered during excavations at the wreck, which was found at a depth of around 100 feet near Kekova Island off the coast of southern Turkey, according to a statement from the country’s culture ministry, published Wednesday.

The amphorae date from 4,400-4,700 years ago and provide new information on maritime history, the daily lives of mariners and trade connections at the time.

Turkish Culture Ministry

The vessels are thought to mainly have been used for transporting olive oil or wine. However, one amphora features a distinctive set of marks and two holes in its body, which suggest it could have been used to make cheese or butter.

Researchers said the presence of this amphora may mean that sailors took goats with them on their voyages, using their milk to make dairy products.

The excavations were led by Hakan Öniz, a professor at Akdeniz University, Antalya, who told CNN that the shipwreck was first discovered four years ago.

The amphorae were initially thought to be much more recent, but then Öniz read a publication on amphorae that had been found near the Giza pyramids in Egypt — the oldest of which was believed to have been under construction at the same time as the ship sank.

“These resembled the amphorae in our shipwreck,” Öniz told CNN on Wednesday, adding that a team of researchers made a follow-up dive at the site.

They then invited a leading expert on amphorae, Australian archaeologist Karin Sowada, to visit the shipwreck and examine the evidence.

“We reached a consensus and proceeded with further analysis,” said Öniz, who added the team are “generally confident” that this is the oldest shipwreck in the world.

“It is not just the amphorae; the anchors and other artifacts found at the shipwreck site also point to the same centuries,” he said.

Turkey’s culture and tourism minister, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, said the amphorae appear to have moved around the Eastern Mediterranean.

“Clay analyses indicate that the amphorae were likely produced in workshops in the Jordan Valley,” Ersoy said in the statement.

“The fact that similar examples have been found in Egypt, Troy, and Crete is of great importance for understanding the trade networks that connected different geographies via sea routes,” he said.

Researchers believe the ship may have been traveling from the Levantine coast, which runs from Turkey in the north to Egypt in the south, to Troy or Crete when it was wrecked.

CNN’s Gul Tuysuz contributed to this story.

在土耳其海岸附近工作的考古学家发现了一艘距今约 4700 年的沉船，使其成为世界上最古老的沉船。

据土耳其文化部周三发表的声明称，在土耳其南部海岸附近的凯科瓦岛附近，水下约 100 英尺处发现的沉船中，考古人员发掘出了许多被称为双耳陶罐的古代储藏容器。

这些双耳细颈陶罐的历史可以追溯到 4400 至 4700 年前，为我们提供了有关当时航海史、水手日常生活和贸易联系的新信息。

土耳其文化部

这些器皿被认为主要用于运输橄榄油或葡萄酒。然而，其中一个双耳细颈陶罐的罐身上有一组独特的标记和两个孔，这表明它可能曾被用来制作奶酪或黄油。

研究人员表示，这件双耳细颈瓶的出现可能意味着水手们在航行中会携带山羊，并用山羊奶制作乳制品。

此次挖掘工作由安塔利亚阿克德尼兹大学的教授哈坎·厄尼兹领导，他告诉 CNN，这艘沉船是四年前首次被发现的。

最初人们认为这些双耳陶罐的年代要晚得多，但后来厄尼兹读到一篇关于在埃及吉萨金字塔附近发现的双耳陶罐的出版物——其中最古老的一个据信是在沉船的同时建造的。

“这些陶罐与我们在沉船中发现的陶罐很相似，”厄尼兹周三告诉 CNN，并补充说，一个研究小组对该地点进行了后续潜水。

随后，他们邀请了澳大利亚考古学家、双耳陶罐研究领域的权威专家卡琳·索瓦达 (Karin Sowada) 前往沉船遗址，考察相关证据。

“我们达成了共识，并继续进行进一步分析，”厄尼兹说，他还补充说，团队“普遍确信”这是世界上最古老的沉船。

“不仅仅是双耳细颈陶罐；在沉船遗址发现的锚和其他文物也指向了同样的世纪，”他说。

土耳其文化和旅游部长穆罕默德·努里·埃尔索伊表示，这些双耳陶罐似乎在东地中海地区流传过。

埃尔索伊在声明中说：“粘土分析表明，这些双耳陶罐很可能是在约旦河谷的作坊里生产的。”

他说：“在埃及、特洛伊和克里特岛都发现了类似的例子，这对于了解通过海上路线连接不同地区的贸易网络​​具有重要意义。”

研究人员认为，这艘船当时可能正从黎凡特海岸（北起土耳其，南至埃及）驶往特洛伊或克里特岛，途中遭遇海难。

CNN记者Gul Tuysuz对本文亦有贡献。