Oldest deep-sea shipwreck sheds light on time of ancient mariners

A trading ship dating back to the Old Testament has been discovered 1800m underwater off Israel – and a robot has recovered Bronze Age pots.

A specially designed robot recovered two Bronze Age pots from the seabed, confirming the cargo was Canaanite. Picture: Israel Antiquities Authority/AFP/Getty Images

It could almost be described as biblical: the oldest evidence of a shipwreck ever found in the deep seas, dating back to the time of the Canaanites and the Old Testament, has been discovered off the north of Israel.

The 3400-year-old trading ship was found at a depth of 1800m and appears to transform our understanding of the skill and abilities of ancient mariners.

Being 90km from the nearest shore, it shows that Bronze Age sailors were able to travel without a line of sight to the coast.

Jacob Shavit, head of the Israel Antiquities Authority Marine Unit, said: “This is a world-class history-changing discovery: this find reveals to us as never before the ancient mariners’ navigational skills. They probably used the celestial bodies, by taking sightings and angles of the sun and star positions.”

Energean, the gas company, organised an investigation of the site after a survey last year identified an anomaly on the seabed. Picture: Israel Antiquities Authority/AFP/Getty Images

The investigation confirmed the ship was 12-14 metres long and could transport hundreds of vessels. Picture: Israel Antiquities Authority/AFP/Getty Images

The ship was found last year during a survey by the gas company Energean, which identified an anomaly on the seabed that turned out to be a cargo of ancient jars emerging through the sediment. Remains of the ship are thought to survive beneath the sediment, but anything above it has decayed.

Energean organised an investigation, which confirmed the ship was 12-14 metres long and could transport hundreds of pots.

A specially designed robot recovered two Bronze Age pots from the seabed, confirming that the cargo was Canaanite even if no one can be sure that the ship was.

The robot scoured the seabed for artefacts … Picture: Israel Antiquities Authority/AFP/Getty Images

… and retrieved two pots. Picture: Israel Antiquities Authority/AFP/Getty Images

The cargo of hundreds of pottery jars is still in position after more than 3000 years. Picture: Israel Antiquities Authority/AFP/Getty Images

It is assumed the pots would have held oil, wine or food but have diffused, decayed or been consumed over the years.

It appears that the ship sank quickly, perhaps as the result of a storm or a raid by pirates, who were known to be a threat at the time.

The cargo of hundreds of pottery jars is still in position after more than 3000 years, suggesting there was not time to disturb them.

Only two other shipwrecks from this era have been found in the Mediterranean, both near Turkey. In that context, the location of this ship is revelatory. “This is a truly sensational find,” Shavit said.

“There is tremendous potential here for research. The ship is preserved at such a great depth that time has frozen since the moment of disaster.”

The Times