World News
Turkish coast wreck described as world's oldest, archaeologists report
Excavation near Kekova Island in Antalya recovered jars that clay analysis traces to Jordan Valley workshops.
The short version
- Archaeologists say a shipwreck off Turkey's coast dates to 4,400 to 4,700 years ago and is described as the world's oldest known.[CBS News]
- Underwater excavations near Kekova Island in Antalya recovered ceramic storage jars, and clay analysis traces them to Jordan Valley workshops.[Al Jazeera · CBS News]
- Reports say the find would displace the previous record, an Aegean wreck near Greece dated to 4,200 years ago.[CBS News]
- Hakan Öniz says the vessel may have been carrying olive oil or wine westward, and his team first thought the jars were only a century or two old.[CBS News]
Key facts
- Archaeologists describe a wreck off Turkey's coast as the world's oldest known shipwreck, dated to 4,400 to 4,700 years ago.[CBS News]
- Turkey's Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said the wreck dates to the period when the Pyramids of Giza were built.[CBS News]
- Ersoy announced that underwater excavations near Kekova Island in Antalya province recovered ceramic storage jars dated to 4,700 years ago.[Al Jazeera]
- Clay analysis indicates the jars were produced in workshops in the Jordan Valley, along Jordan's border with Israel and the West Bank.[CBS News]
- The discovery would surpass the previous record, an Aegean Sea wreck near Greece dated to 4,200 years ago.[CBS News]
- One vessel reportedly features nine markings and two holes that may indicate use for churning butter or cheese.[Al Jazeera]
What remains uncertain
- Reported age ranges differ: CBS cites 4,400 to 4,700 years, while Al Jazeera cites Ersoy's figure of 4,700 years.[Al Jazeera · CBS News]
- Öniz suggests the vessel likely sank while carrying olive oil or wine westward, possibly toward Troy or Crete; this is his interpretation.[CBS News]
- Öniz told CBS his team first thought the jars were only a century or two old when the wreck was found four years ago.[CBS News]
Sources
Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.