World’s oldest shipwreck discovered off coast of Turkey

Key Points:

• A shipwreck off the coast of Kekova, Turkey, is believed by archaeologists to be the oldest known shipwreck in the world, tentatively dated to around 2700–2400 BCE, surpassing the previous oldest wreck near Dokos, Greece, dated to about 4200 years ago.
• The shipwreck, discovered by Associate Professor Hakan Öniz in 2024, contained pottery vessels that helped date the site and suggest it was part of extensive Early Bronze Age maritime trade networks in the eastern Mediterranean.
• Although the ship's timbers have long deteriorated, the cargo—large ceramic amphorae with distinctive features—provides crucial clues about ancient trade, possibly involving goods such as olive oil, wine, or tree resin, and links to regions including the Central Jordan Valley.
• This discovery offers a new perspective on maritime commerce during the third millennium BCE, a period previously poorly understood, and may illuminate early trade routes that connected areas like southern Turkey, the Levant, and Egypt.
• Further scientific analyses and peer-reviewed publication are pending, but the find promises to enhance understanding of ancient Mediterranean trade and cultural connections during the pyramid age of Egypt.