In October, scientists announced the discovery of traces of the oldest sunken ship in the Mediterranean Sea near Turkey’s island of Kekov. The vessel likely sank between 4,400 and 4,700 years ago.
Until now, the oldest known shipwreck was from a vessel that sank off Greece’s island of Dokos approximately 4,200 years ago. This discovery reveals evidence of maritime trade routes dating back to at least 4,400 years ago.
Scientists estimate that the ship set sail in the period between 2,700 and 2,400 BCE. The absence of preserved wooden fragments has prevented radiocarbon dating, but researchers used ceramic amphorae—vessels manufactured in the Jordan Valley during the early Bronze Age—to determine its age. More than 30 such amphorae and three stone anchors were recovered from the site.
The ship may have traveled from the Levant region (spanning modern-day Turkey to Egypt) toward centers like Troy or Crete before sinking. This finding indicates that by 4,500 years ago, maritime trade networks had already extended across the Mediterranean.
The shipwreck occurred between 1,100 and 1,300 years before the Trojan War and over 1,500 years prior to the collapse of Bronze Age civilizations due to climate change and resource scarcity.
