A deep-sea salvage company claims to have discovered the deepest ancient shipwreck ever found- a 2,300-year-old Greek trading vessel found nearly two miles under the surface of the Mediterranean. The discovery of the shipwreck between the classical trading centers of Rhodes and Alexandria adds to the collection of evidence that is challenging the long-held theory that ancient sailors lacked the navigational knowledge and skill to sail large distances across open water. It is believed that they were restricted to following the coastline during thier trips. Four other possibly ancient wrecks were discovered nearby.
In the spring of 1999, the deep-ocean exploration firm Nauticos Corporation conducted a survey in the eastern Mediterranean in an attempt to locate an Israeli submarine that had mysteriously disappeared in the area 31 years before. Their sonar system detected five closely spaced clusters at a depth of almost 10,000 feet on what is known as the Herodotus Abyssal Plain. Visual inspection of these clusters with a remotely operated vehicle revealed five shipwrecks of possible archaeological significance. There was only enough time to permit the collection of a detailed video and sonar imagery of only one site. This information was sent to the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) at Texas A&M University to determine the ships origin and importance. The shape of several amphoras or containers from the site date back to the end of the third century B.C. or the beginning of the second century B.C. making this the deepest ancient shipwreck yet discovered.
Despite its depth, the site is typical for an ancient shipwreck. The vessel came to rest on the bottom and eventually flipped over onto its side. As its wooden hull lost structural integrity, the ship’s side flattened out under the weight of the containers that had tumbled over it. The opposite side of the hull was held upright, unburied by the containers or sediment, succumbed to erosion and decay, and were mostly rotted away. This wreck’s amphora cargo forms a mound approximately 80 feet long and 50 feet wide and tapers in height and width from the center of the ship to the bow and stern, or front and back. At least six or more types of wine amphoras have been identified, including containers from the islands of Rhodes and Kos, there may be as many as 2,500 containers present at the site.
The ship’s bow area or the front area of the ship, can be identified by the presence of at least five lead anchors.
“The Wreck of the Sea-Venture,” written by Peter Linebaugh and Marcus Rediker in their book Many Headed Hydra, tells the story of the shipwreck of the Sea-Venture en route to Virginia in 1669, which left the passengers of the ship stranded on Bermuda without a ship to continue the journey to Virginia. While the members of the Virginia Company made a boat to continue the journey, the remaining passengers of the Sea-Venture had to cooperate with one another in order to survive. The authors’ thesis in this document is the shipwreck of the Sea-Venture and the actions taken by the sailors portray the themes of early Atlantic settlement. For example, the sailing of the Sea-Venture was caused by expropriation. The Virginia Company advertised the New
The Iliad alone would never have been a reliable source without archaeological evidence to verify the actuality of a Trojan war. Therefore archaeologists have been working on the site known as hissarlik since the 1800’s to uncover truths about the myth. Frank Calv...
A prime example of the possible contributions of underwater archaeology is the Ulu Burun shipwreck. The Ulu Burun shipwreck is the remains of a Late Bronze Age (~1600 – 1050 BCE) trading vessel dated to about 1300 BCE. The shipwreck was discovered in 1982 off the coast of Ulu Burun, near the modern city of Kas, Turkey. This fifty-foot long vessel was resting at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea at a depth of approximately 150 feet. Eleven sets of excavations were conducted from 1984 to 1994 in order to deliver the artifacts to the surface for analysis. From this wreck site, archaeologists now have a more detailed and precise understanding about the trade and distribution of commodities in the Late Bronze Age.
There are mysteries which man can only guess at, which may only ever truly be solved in part; the SS Edmund Fitzgerald’s sinking is one of them. At the time it was launched in 1958, the 729-foot long, 75-foot wide freighter was the largest ship to ply the Great Lakes. Although, on November 9, 1975 the ship embarked upon what would become its final voyage. She was carrying 26,000 tons of iron ore pellets and bound for Detroit, and though the day was bright, in her path laid great turbulence. On November 10, at 1:00am, the first signs of trouble appeared, and prevailed into the afternoon. As the waves built, luck was neither with the ship nor the crew. At 7:10 PM, Captain McSorley delivered what was to be his final message "We are holding our own." Ten minutes later, the Fitzgerald could neither be raised by radio, nor detected on radar, and no distress signal was received. With that, the ship and crew of 29 men sank to the bottom of Lake Superior. Several expeditions have been mounted to the wreck and have been the subject of some controversy. There are many theories for how the Fitzgerald found itself hundreds of feet below the water; however none of them have been proven indefinitely. One possible cause of this disaster includes the ship crossing the Superior Shoal, with water as shallow as 22 feet. Additionally, the ship may have suffered a stress fracture and broke apart on the surface. Another possibility is that the ship succumbed to the forces of the Three Sisters, a Lake Superior phenomenon, consisting of massive waves. These current theories are merely conjectures, and since each holds the possibility of being true, it cannot yet be determined which one actually is.
The ginormous volcano at Akrotiri on the island of Thera during the Bronze Age was devastating, and is speculated to be related to the fall of the Minoan civilization. Starting in 1867, archeologists discovered pottery, a buried city and frescoes. These discoveries are the most significant as the pottery and the buried city helped historians learn about the art, trade and societal aspects of Akrotiri, and the frescoes found revealed more information about Akrotiri’s art and religion. Clay artifacts found at the Akrotiri excavation site give evidence that Akrotiri traded with nearby locations like Crete and mainland Greece, and also with places like Egypt and Cyprus. Clay seals, that would have been used to seal papyrus documents, that were found on Akrotiri have also been found on Crete.
Grape residue inside ancient wine jars – amphorae - have been recovered from Neolithic and Late Uruk sites along the rivers inside the...
“The Raft of the Medusa”, by Theodore Gericault, 1819, was inspired by the catastrophic wreck of the French frigate, The Medusa, on July 2, 1816, off the west coast of Africa, during a voyage to Senagal. The ship ran aground on the Arguin Reef, in calm seas. In an attempt to preserve the lives of 400 passengers aboard, the crew, soldiers, sailors and passengers built a raft, manned the lifeboats and the raft, and abandoned the Medusa. What followed was a most harrowing experience that would challenge the soul and condemn the government of a world power.
mastery of no mere mortal. As such, they capture the image of a person's heart being
Using their wooden ships, they raided, traded, explored and settled in Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands. They developed different kinds of ships to help them navigate the ocean, seas and even narrow, shallow rivers. One kind of ship was the “knarr.” The knarr was a short, sturdy cargo ship that was mainly used for long ocean voyages and hazardous trips. It mainly used sails, but also had oars in the event that there was no wind on the open water. Another ship was known as the “karve”. They were very similar to the knarr, but had shallower h...
The Phoenicians and Vikings are known for their significant contributions to travel and trade. Not only did they create new systems of navigation but they also developed faster transportation. In today’s modern world we still use these navigations systems. Even though the transportation they used to travel across water is not the same as today’s it still played a huge part in the design.
Meyer, Sandra L. "Brief Review: 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner.'" Student Pluse. N.p., 2010. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. . Fourth
Weeks. The strength of this report resided in the exponential amount of detail and recording of all available data, including measurements, photographs, charts, hieroglyph translation, drawings, and even chemical analysis of pigments and plaster. An additional strength within this report would be the detailed description of conservation methodology which can be adapted and used at archaeological sites around the world. The only notable weaknesses within this report would be the inclusion of excessive description of flood debris which is not extremely relevant to future research, and the lack of explanation regarding the claim that this tomb is the final resting place of the sons of Rameses
Most of the cemeteries found in the Southern Levant during the Early Bronze Age IV are composed of shaft tombs. The details differ from site to sites and sometimes within the same site (e.g. Jericho). At some of the sites, such as those nea...
The tip of the iceberg. Thats what brought down the greatest ship of its day. It’s the reason 1,500 people died in one of the deadliest maritime disasters in the world. The Titanic. When the Titanic was built it was the largest and most luxurious passenger liner at the time. It was also considered to be completely unsinkable.
News, CBC. "Signs of Atlantis found in southern Spain." CBCnews. 14 Mar. 2011. CBC/Radio Canada. 24 Feb. 2012 .