A few days ago theIsrael Antiquities Authority made public an important archaeological discovery that occurred in 2023 about 90 km from the coast of Israel and good 1800 meters deep under the sea: a ancient ship wreckdating between 3300 and 3100 years agothen toBronze Age. The discovery, associated with the discovery of the load of amphorae that the boat was carrying, can change what we knew about the navigation in this very remote era. The wreck was intercepted during some exploration work on the seabed of the eastern Mediterranean by the British oil company Energian. The operators of the remote-controlled submarine noticed the presence of a expanse of amphorae on the muddy seabedand immediately alerted the Israeli authorities.
The maritime unit of the Israel Antiquities Authority immediately got to work. On board the ship Energy Starequipped with all the technologies necessary to carry out a mapping of the seabed, archaeologists were able to carry out the relief of the wreck and the mechanical recovery of some of the amphorae that the vessel was carrying.
The archaeological investigation sought to be the least invasive as possible and only two amphorae were recovered. Based on the data collected, the ship was between 12 and 14 metresand carried a large quantity of amphorae of the so-called “Canaanite“, some of the oldest known transport containers in the ancient Mediterranean, coming from Levantine coast.
The discovery truly is exceptional For two reasons. First, the Bronze Age shipwrecks we know are very few: the best known are those of Cape Gelidonya is that of Uluburun, found off the Turkish coast. This therefore enriches our knowledge regarding the traffics and the trade in this very important period for the history of the Mediterranean. The unfortunate vessel sank at a time when the Near East el’Mediterranean Europe there were more interconnected And connected that never.
Secondly, in its own way, the discovery of this wreck is of great importance because unhinges one of beliefs that we had regarding navigation during the Bronze Age. Until today it was believed that sailors from more than 3000 years ago were unable to navigate the open seabut they practiced navigation of “cabotage“, that is to say always keeping the earth in sight to be able to orient yourself. The wreck found off the coast of Israel was located 90 km from land, in the open sea, without any visual contact or reference point. This would suggest that sailors of the time already knew orient yourself taking advantage of the position of Sun and of stars.
