World’s oldest shipwreck found off coast of Turkey

The world's oldest shipwreck has been discovered off the coast of Turkey, near Kekova Island in Antalya. Archaeologists say the remains, which include ceramic pots known as amphoras, date back between 4,400 and 4,700 years.

Archaeologists working off the coast of Turkey have found a shipwreck dating back around 4,700 years, making it the oldest in the world.

A number of ancient storage vessels known as amphorae were recovered during excavations at the wreck, which was found at a depth of around 100 feet near Kekova Island off the coast of southern Turkey, according to a statement from the country's culture ministry, published Wednesday.

The amphorae date from 4,400-4,700 years ago and provide new information on maritime history, the daily lives of mariners and trade connections at the time.

Giant amphorae recovered by divers - Turkish Culture Ministry

The vessels are thought to mainly have been used for transporting olive oil or wine. However, one amphora features a distinctive set of marks and two holes in its body, which suggest it could have been used to make cheese or butter.

Researchers said the presence of this amphora may mean that sailors took goats with them on their voyages, using their milk to make dairy products.

The excavations were led by Hakan Öniz, a professor at Akdeniz University, Antalya, who told CNN that the shipwreck was first discovered four years ago.

The wreck sits about 100 feet beneath the surface. - Turkish Culture Ministry

The amphorae were initially thought to be much more recent, but then Öniz read a publication on amphorae that had been found near the Giza pyramids in Egypt — the oldest of which was believed to have been under construction at the same time as the ship sank.

"These resembled the amphorae in our shipwreck," Öniz told CNN on Wednesday, adding that a team of researchers made a follow-up dive at the site.

They then invited a leading expert on amphorae, Australian archaeologist Karin Sowada, to visit the shipwreck and examine the evidence.

"We reached a consensus and proceeded with further analysis," said Öniz, who added the team are "generally confident" that this is the oldest shipwreck in the world.

"It is not just the amphorae; the anchors and other artifacts found at the shipwreck site also point to the same centuries," he said.

Turkey's culture and tourism minister, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, said the amphorae appear to have moved around the Eastern Mediterranean.

"Clay analyses indicate that the amphorae were likely produced in workshops in the Jordan Valley," Ersoy said in the statement.

"The fact that similar examples have been found in Egypt, Troy, and Crete is of great importance for understanding the trade networks that connected different geographies via sea routes," he said.

Researchers believe the ship may have been traveling from the Levantine coast, which runs from Turkey in the north to Egypt in the south, to Troy or Crete when it was wrecked.

CNN's Gul Tuysuz contributed to this story.

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