During ancient times, people travelled long distances via sea routes as communication had not evolved completely. Their journeys were often marked with ordeals in the form of bad weather, sudden attacks from pirates, and even shipwrecks. Although history has forgotten these unfortunate travellers, archaeologists have left no stone unturned to find more about them.
Recently, researchers have made an amazing discovery under the sea that will leave you stunned. An almost 1300-year-old shipwreck has been located along the coast of Israel. Moreover, the ancient shipwreck is loaded with valuable artefacts in 200 perfectly preserved pots.
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According to The Archeologist website, which deals with daily archaeological news, the valuables found on the ship date back to the 7th and 8th century AD. Further, it proves that Mediterranean traders brought these expensive goods with them to trade and port in the Holy Land of Israel. Even after the Israeli conquest in the 7th century, Mediterranean merchants continued their business in Israel.
Nautical archaeologist Deborah Cvikel revealed that although history books mentioned the halt of commercial trade, it might not have been the case. “The history books, they usually tell us that…commerce almost stopped. There was no international commerce in the Mediterranean. We had mainly smaller vessels sailing along the coast doing cabotage,” she said.
“Here we have a large shipwreck, which we think the original ship was around 25 meters (82 feet) long, and…laden with cargo from all over the Mediterranean,” Deborah added.
Although researchers have not been able to find out how the shipwreck happened – whether it was the cause of a storm or the captain was inadept, they have pointed out the origin from where these trade goods came. These cargo items were carried to Israel’s port either from Cyprus in Egypt or Turkey. The preserved items found in the pots contained dates, figs, different types of olives, and fish sauce.
The Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University, the Honor Frost Foundation, and the Israel Science Foundation has backed up the exciting new project, learning about the discovery.
Israel’s coastline is littered with age-old sunken ships. Since the water is shallow and the artefacts are preserved by the sandy bottom, the wrecks are easier to investigate here than they are elsewhere in the Mediterranean.
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