Archaeologists working near Kekova Island off southern Turkey have documented a shipwreck that may be the oldest known in the world. Turkey’s culture ministry said in a statement published Wednesday that the vessel dates to roughly 4,400 to 4,700 years ago, CNN reported.
The ship’s wooden hull did not survive the millennia underwater, so most of what is known comes from its cargo. CBS News reported that the trade vessel was about 33 feet long and likely sailed the Mediterranean with goods. Researchers recovered ceramic storage jars called amphorae and three stone anchors, according to CBS News. Reports differ on the number of jars: CBS News cited about 30, while Gizmodo said researchers had identified about 18. Some jars still hold a glossy residue. Karin Sowada, an archaeologist at Macquarie University in Australia, told the BBC, as Gizmodo reported, that the material could be olive oil, wine or tree resin.
Hakan Öniz, an associate professor at Akdeniz University in Antalya who led the expedition, told CBS News that his team first found the wreck about four years ago. Gizmodo gave a 2024 discovery date and said a preliminary report appeared in July in the Journal of Maritime Archaeology. Reports also differ on depth, which Gizmodo put at 65 to 78 feet and CNN put at about 100 feet.
How the team dated the ship
Because no wood survived for radiocarbon testing, the age estimate rests largely on the style of the jars. Öniz told CBS News that the amphorae first looked only a century or two old. His team revised that view after reading a publication on Egyptian archaeology and returning to the site. The jars resembled forms found near the Giza pyramids, and CNN reported that the oldest of those was believed to have been under construction around the time the ship sank. Gizmodo noted that the wreck belongs to the Early Bronze Age, a period it said lasted roughly 1,600 years.
Ersoy said in the ministry statement that clay analysis points to workshops in the Jordan Valley, and that similar jars have turned up in Egypt, Troy and Crete. Öniz told CBS News the vessel appears to have sunk while carrying olive oil or wine westward from that region, perhaps toward Troy or Crete. CNN reported that one jar, marked and perforated, may have served sailors making dairy products during long trips.
Record claim and next steps
If the dating holds, the wreck would displace an Aegean Sea wreck near Greece that CBS News said dates to about 4,200 years ago as the oldest known. The Independent gave a calendar range of 2600 to 2400 BC for the Turkish vessel.
Öniz told CNN the team is “generally confident” the wreck is the oldest, after a follow-up dive and after bringing in Sowada to examine the evidence. Gizmodo reported that summer excavations are planned and could clarify the wreck’s age. Reports do not say when a full analysis will be published, and the findings so far are described as preliminary.
