Hundreds of intact amphorae have been discovered on the seabed 1.8 kilometers deep off the coast of Israel. The storage ships, which are approximately 3,300 to 3,400 years old, were located aboard a shipwreck, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said.
The IAA spoke on Thursday of a “groundbreaking discovery”. Two of the amphorae were recently recovered. According to the authority’s assessment, they date back to the Late Bronze Age and belonged to the Canaanites, also known as Canaanites.
Before the Israelites, they lived in the area corresponding to modern-day Israel and Lebanon, as well as parts of Jordan and Syria. The jars were used to store oil, wine and fruit, among other things.
According to the director of the IAA’s Marine Archeology Department, Jacob Sharvit, the large number of amphorae on board one ship is evidence of the important trade links with the ancient Near Eastern countries on the Mediterranean coast.
Sunk 90 kilometers offshore
A ship from this period has never been found in the deep sea, the Israeli Antiquities Authority said in a statement. It sank about 60 miles offshore, possibly due to a storm or a pirate attack. Only two shipwrecks containing cargo from the Late Bronze Age have been discovered. According to information, both are located off the Turkish coast, but close to the coast.
According to the authority, the find is also proof that, contrary to previous belief, the sailors crossed the sea without being able to see the coast. “This find reveals to us like never before the navigational skills of ancient sailors,” says Sharvit. He therefore estimates that they used the sun and other stars for navigation.
Discovered with a diving robot at a depth of 1.8 km
The British-Greek company Energean carried out a standard survey of the seabed with a diving robot about a year ago and came across a collection of pots at a depth of 1.8 kilometers, the antiquities authority said. Energean produces gas from, among other things, the Karisch field off the coast of Israel.
Company employees and the antiquities authority eventually examined the site using a vessel equipped for deep-sea work and determined that it must be the cargo of a sunken ship approximately forty to forty feet long. Many of the shipwreck’s artifacts and possibly wooden beams are covered by the muddy ground.
Amphoras recovered with special equipment
The two amphorae were recovered about two weeks ago after months of planning and developing special equipment, Israeli daily Haaretz reported. According to the antiquities authority, they will go on display this summer.
The authority did not say whether the rest of the cargo and possible remains of the ship should also be recovered. According to Haaretz, the ship’s beams that were above the ground have disappeared.
Source: Krone
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