Situated off the Western shore of the Antalya Province lays the Kumluca Bronze Age Shipwreck, which is one of the oldest in the world, dating back to the year 1600BC, in the Bronze Age. Since being discovered by a team of divers from the University’s Underwater Research department, numerous artefacts have been uncovered and bought back to the surface, many of which have never been seen before shedding new light on the livelihood of those civilizations from 3600 years ago.
At 14m long, the ship likely sank during a storm on its way to Crete, carrying with it Copper Bullion which, once melted down, would have been used at the time to pay taxes to the dominant faction in the region – the Egyptians.
New dives have recently discovered further items which include Copper Ingots and personal items belonging to the Sailors onboard – which have helped to date the ship and prove the areas rich cultural heritage along with its maritime significance in trade and shipbuilding. Aside the ingots, two lead weights were also discovered, the first of their kind, which suggest that there was a Syrian merchant amongst the crew. Associate Professor Hakan Öniz, who led the team of divers and researchers, said of the find ‘Probably, the traders go everywhere with their own weights. Therefore, the merchant on this ship travels with lead weights of 22 grams and 44 grams. The merchant probably went from mine to mine and collected copper before loading them onto the ship’.
It’s not easy to uncover these artefacts, and it’s a painstaking process even with the help of advanced technology and robots, given the length of time that the ‘treasure trove’ has been under the water. Some items, even the smaller ones, can take a month. All items also then need to go through a cleansing process in order to restore them as best as possible to their former glory.
*photo credit to Anadolu Agency via Daily Sabah
