“Never before has a ship been found in the Mediterranean Sea that sank so long ago and at such a great distance from the shore,” emphasized Jakob Szarwit from the IAA. Two other wrecks discovered off the coast of Turkey rested in shallow waters, so they could be reached using normal diving equipment, noted the I24 portal.
The ship was discovered a year ago by a company searching for undersea gas deposits. It is believed to have been used to transport relatively cheap and mass-produced goods such as olive oil, wine and other agricultural products.
According to experts, the wreck located so far from the coast proves that people acquired complex navigation skills, allowing them to sail on the high seas, much earlier than previously suspected. Scientists assumed that sailing was done so that the sailors did not lose sight of the land. However, being 90 km away from the coast means that sailors could not see the shore, so they used the position of the stars and the sun to plot their course.
“This is a history-changing discovery,” said Szarwit. “Finding so many amphorae on board one ship proves significant trade links between their place of origin and the ancient lands of the Middle East located on the Mediterranean coast,” he said.
In the Late Bronze Age, international trade in the region of the Middle Eastern civilization flourished. Shipbuilding developed, allowing ships to transport larger amounts of goods, and ports were expanded, but pirate attacks also became more frequent.
According to Szarwit, further examination of the found ship will help determine whether it sank due to a storm or an attack by robbers.
Due to the fact that the ship sank in such deep water, it should have survived in excellent condition. It was not affected by waves or sea currents, and it could not be damaged by fishermen or divers, which often happens to wrecks that rest in shallow waters – noted the researcher.