8 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A 3,600-Year-Old Bronze Minoan Dagger Discovered in Antalya Underwater Excavation

A bronze dagger with silver rivets that dates to the Minoan civilization approximately 3,600 years ago was discovered during an underwater excavation off the coast of Kumluca, Antalya.

Work on the vessel, which sank in ancient Lycia, began in July and August 2019 with the permission of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism, under the chairmanship of the Antalya Museum Directorate.

Under the leadership of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hakan Öniz from Akdeniz University, the sunken ship carrying copper pillow ingots, previously thought to have been extracted from the Troodos Mountains, was found 50 meters deep in the sea during excavations off the Kumluca district of Antalya. The findings suggest the ship was en route to Crete when it sank.

Photo: Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye

Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy shared the images of the wreck and the dagger on his social media account and said, ‘A 3,600-year-old secret from the depths of the Mediterranean Sea has come to light. A bronze dagger with silver rivets belonging to the Minos civilization was found during underwater excavations off the coast of the Kumluca district of Antalya. This wreck may be one of the most important discoveries not only in Turkey but also in the world of underwater archaeology,’ he said.

He expressed gratitude to the Akdeniz University and the Directorate of Excavations and Research for their meticulous work in revealing the ancient artifact.

Photo: Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye

The archaeological studies conducted in 2019 on the Bronze Age shipwreck in Antalya Kumluca focused on in situ documentation, with a small number of samples excavated with the permission of Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture to gain more information about the wreck. In the studies, the latest technology and current methods were applied and the margin of error was minimized. The works on this important shipwreck will be pursued in the following 5 years.

Cover Image: Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye

Related Articles

13.000 Ostraca Discovered in Upper Egypt

20 December 2021

20 December 2021

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism announced that a German-Egyptian mission at the Al-Sheikh Hamad archaeological site in Tel...

Ancient cooking vessel found in northern Minnesota dates back more than 1,600 years

28 February 2022

28 February 2022

Dating of Ceramic sherds found in 2003 at the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota revealed the vessel...

Stone Age Swiss Army Knife? Experimental Archaeology Reveals Surprising Use of Bone Tools at Estonia Site

22 May 2025

22 May 2025

A groundbreaking new study published in February 2025 has revealed that mysterious bone tools discovered at Estonia’s oldest known human...

Mysterious Rods Found in 5,500-year-old Tomb identified to Be Earliest Drinking Straws

19 January 2022

19 January 2022

Russian archaeologists argue that the rods unearthed in an early bronze age tomb in the Caucasus are the oldest known...

The longest inscription in Saudi Arabia turned out to belong to the last king of Babylon

25 July 2021

25 July 2021

The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage has announced the discovery of a 2,550-year-old inscription etched on basalt stone...

8000 years old fingerprint and ceramic production workshop found in İzmir Ulucak Mound

22 August 2022

22 August 2022

It was understood that the structure unearthed during the ongoing excavations in the 8850-year-old Ulucak Mound (Ulucak Höyük), the oldest...

Elamite clay tablet discovered 4500 years old, in southwest Iran

4 December 2021

4 December 2021

A clay tablet, estimated to be from the Elam period, about 4500 years old, was recently discovered in southwestern Iran....

Aldi construction uncovered Roman mosaic in UK

18 March 2023

18 March 2023

A team of Oxford Archaeology archaeologists discovered a Roman mosaic in the market town of Olney, Buckinghamshire, England. Ahead of...

A new study says genes and languages aren’t always together

22 November 2022

22 November 2022

Over 7,000 languages are spoken around the world. This linguistic diversity, like biological traits, is passed down from generation to...

A Rare Roman-Era Bronze Filter Discovered in Hadrianopolis, Türkiye

11 February 2025

11 February 2025

Archaeologists excavating at Hadrianopolis in Karabük, Türkiye, have unearthed a 5th-century AD bronze filter used in Roman and Byzantine times...

Ancient Greeks Built a Road to Haul Cargo Overland: The Father of the Railway: Diolkos

6 May 2024

6 May 2024

The Diolkos, an ambitious road that crossed the entire Isthmus of Corinth and was partially paved with stone, was built...

2,200-year-old Greek sling bullet may have been used against Jews

9 December 2022

9 December 2022

A 2,200-year-old lead sling bullet was discovered by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in the central Israeli city of Yavne,...

Byzantine monk chained with iron rings unearthed near Jerusalem

4 January 2023

4 January 2023

A skeleton chained with iron rings was discovered at Khirbat el-Masani, about four kilometers northwest of Jerusalem, along the ancient...

Feline and anthropomorphic 29 new geoglyphs discovered in Peru

21 December 2023

21 December 2023

In Ica, a region south of Lima on the coast of Peru, 29 geoglyphs were found by an archaeologist from...

Archaeologists Uncover Elegant Rare Blue Frescoes of an Ancient Sanctuary in Pompeii

10 June 2024

10 June 2024

Archaeologists digging away at ash covering the ancient city of Pompeii have uncovered a room with walls frescoed in an...