22 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A 3300-Year-Old Canaanite Shipwreck Ever Discovered with All Its Cargo off Israel’s Coast

An Energean natural gas surveying vessel operating about 90 kilometers (56 miles) off the coast of Israel discovered a ship filled with hundreds of intact containers dating from about 3300-3400 years old (14th-13th centuries BC) at an astonishing depth of 1.8 kilometers.

The 3,300-year-old vessel and its cargo of hundreds of intact amphorae (storage vessels) were found on the Mediterranean seafloor, as reported in today’s joint press release from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and Energean.

The amphorae are of a Late Bronze Age type, dating to the 14th century B.C.E. They are best associated with port cities along the coast of the Levant during a time when international maritime commerce—particularly with this region (and even faraway Britain)—flourished. Two representative vessels have been recovered by the Energean team from the 12- to 14-meter-long wreck.

Jacob Sharvit, director of the Marine Unit of the Israel Antiquities Authority, expressed that the ship apparently sank amid a crisis, possibly due to a storm or a pirate attack, both common events in the Late Bronze Age.

What makes this wreck especially exciting is its location—“both the first and the oldest ship found in the Eastern Mediterranean deep sea, 90 kilometers from the nearest shore,” Sharvit says. He further explained:



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



Dr. Bahartan and Jacob Sharvit with the ancient jars. Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority

“This is a truly sensational find. Only two other shipwrecks with cargo are known from the Late Bronze Age in the Mediterranean Sea—the boat from Cape Gelidonya and the Uluburun boat; both found off the Turkish coast. Yet both of those shipwrecks were found relatively near the shore and were accessible using normal diving equipment. Based on these two finds, the academic assumption until now was that trade in that time was executed by safely flitting from port to port, hugging the coastline within eye contact. The discovery of this boat now changes our entire understanding of ancient mariner abilities: It is the very first to be found at such a great distance with no line of sight to any landmass. There is tremendous potential here for research: The ship is preserved at such a great depth that time has frozen since the moment of disaster—its body and contexts have not been disturbed by human hand (divers, fishermen, etc); nor affected by waves and currents which do impact shipwrecks in shallower waters. …”

This find reveals to us as never before the ancient mariners’ navigational skills …. To navigate they probably used the celestial bodies, by taking sightings and angles of the sun and star positions.

 Up until now, trade was thought to be carried out along the visible coastline. But this ship, discovered ninety kilometers from the closest coast, shows that prehistoric seafarers could travel great distances without being able to see land.

The Canaanite jars exposed to daylight after more than 3,300 years. Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority
The Canaanite jars exposed to daylight after more than 3,300 years. Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority

Dr. Karnit Bahartan, head of Environment at Energean, explained that the discovery was a surprise during one of their routine studies. Using an advanced submersible robot, the team identified what appeared to be a pile of jars on the seabed. Collaboration with the Israel Antiquities Authority confirmed it was a significant archaeological find.

Eli Escusido, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, highlighted the importance of these findings, announcing that the extracted Canaanite containers will be exhibited at the Archaeological Campus, allowing the public to learn about the history of this ship before the official opening of the visitor center in two years.

Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA)

Cover Photo: The world’s oldest known deep-sea ship cargo. Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA)

Related Articles

8 ostrich eggs over 4,000 years old discovered near excavated firepit in Negev desert

13 January 2023

13 January 2023

Eight ostrich eggs dating between 4,000 and 7,500 years ago have been found during excavations next to a fire pit...

Hunter-Gatherers Kept an ‘Orderly Home’ in the Earliest Known British Dwelling

25 July 2024

25 July 2024

Based on archaeological evidence from a Yorkshire site, new research suggests that hunter-gatherers probably kept an organized home with designated...

A relief of a man holding his Phallus was found in Sayburç, one of the Taş Tepeler

18 October 2021

18 October 2021

In Sayburç, one of the Taş Tepeler in Şanlıurfa, a five-figure scene consisting of humans, leopards, and a bull was...

Receding waters in Lake Van reveal rock-cut Urartian port

22 September 2022

22 September 2022

Located in the eastern province of Van in Turkey, the falling water level of Lake Van, with the decrease in...

Turkish researchers to work in Mount Ağrı believed to host Noah’s Ark remains

15 December 2022

15 December 2022

A team from Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ) and Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University (AİÇÜ) has started in the area where the...

1,500-year-old secret underground passage uncovered in Istanbul

15 May 2023

15 May 2023

During the ongoing excavations in the ruins of Saint Polyeuktos Church in Istanbul’s Saraçhane neighborhood, which was destroyed during the...

3D printing technology was used for the restored relic restoration of an ancient palace in Liangzhu Archaeological Site

11 July 2021

11 July 2021

Six rebuilt massive wooden pillars of an old palace have been exposed to the public for the first time at...

Archaeologists have pinpointed the location of a famous early Islamic battle using declassified spy satellite images

14 November 2024

14 November 2024

Archaeologists from Durham University in the UK and the University of Al-Qadisiyah have identified the site of the historic Battle...

1,500-year-old mosaic found near the Caliph’s palace at Khirbat al-Minya on the Sea of Galilee

30 September 2022

30 September 2022

Archaeologists from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz uncovered an ancient mosaic that once lay in the shadow of a caliph palace...

Family Looking for Lost Gold Earring Finds Viking Age Artifacts in Their Garden on the Island Of Jomfruland

2 October 2023

2 October 2023

A family in Norway was searching for a lost gold earring in their yard on the island of Jomfruland when...

3D virtual reconstruction of the Celtic city gate

2 May 2022

2 May 2022

A new 3D virtual reconstruction of the Celtic gate has been made in Staffelberg, in the German state of Bavaria....

Hellenic and Roman statue heads unearthed in Knidos

9 December 2021

9 December 2021

Hellenic and Roman sculpture heads were unearthed in the ancient Carian settlement Knidos, located in the Datça district of Muğla...

Analysis of Butchered Bones, Somerset Pit Reveals Bronze Age Cannibalism

17 December 2024

17 December 2024

Archaeologists have uncovered the bloodiest massacre in early Bronze Age Britain and evidence of Bronze Age cannibalism. It is the...

Divine Punishment or Human Theft? 4,000-Year-Old Relief Missing from Egypt’s ‘Cursed’ Tomb

9 October 2025

9 October 2025

A haunting mystery is unfolding in Egypt’s Saqqara necropolis, where a 4,000-year-old limestone relief has vanished from one of the...

“Last Rhodes shipwreck” of Roman period found in Turkey’s Fethiye

5 March 2022

5 March 2022

Turkish researchers, a Rhodes shipwreck from the third century A.D. was discovered in the depths of the Gulf of Fethiye...