Early Bronze Age wreck found off Turkey may be world’s oldest

Archaeologists have identified a shipwreck near Kekova Island off southern Turkey that may be the oldest known seagoing wreck, dating its cargo to roughly 4,400 to 4,700 years ago.

The vessel lies about 100 feet underwater, but its wooden hull has not survived. Excavations recovered ceramic storage jars whose forms, markings and clay composition point to the Early Bronze Age and likely production in the Jordan Valley. Similar pottery has been found in Egypt, Troy and Crete.

Researchers believe most of the jars carried olive oil or wine. One unusual vessel has nine markings and two holes, features that may indicate it was used to make cheese or butter. The team has suggested sailors could have carried goats and processed their milk during voyages, though that interpretation remains tentative.

The wreck was first located four years ago and documented by a team from Akdeniz University led by archaeologist Hakan Öniz. Comparisons with pottery found near Egypt’s Giza pyramids prompted researchers to reassess an initially much younger estimate for the site. Other artifacts, including anchors, also support the proposed dating, Öniz told CNN.

The ship may have been traveling from the Levantine coast toward Troy or Crete when it sank. A preliminary academic report places the wreck between about 2700 and 2400 BC, potentially several centuries earlier than the Dokos wreck off Greece. Because the chronology is based largely on pottery rather than preserved timber, further research is needed to confirm the claim that it is the world’s oldest known shipwreck.