‘World’s oldest shipwreck discovered’

Translated from Dutch NOS TV today:

Researchers report finding oldest shipwreck in the world

Archaeologists have found the wreck of an intact Greek ship at the bottom of the Black Sea. According to them, it has probably been already for more than 2400 years at the bottom of the sea. Archaeologists think it is the oldest complete shipwreck in the world.

The ship is 23 meters long and lies at a depth of over two kilometers, about 75 kilometers off the coast of Bulgaria. The lack of oxygen at that depth, according to the archaeologists, ensured that the mast, rudders and rowing bags of the ship were preserved.

Professor Jon Adams of the Black Sea Archeology Project, the team that found the ship, never thought that such a discovery would be possible. “It is changing our understanding of shipbuilding and shipping in the ancient world.”

The researchers think it is a commercial ship, of a type that has so far only been seen on ancient Greek pottery such as the Siren Vase in the British Museum. This vase dates from the same period as the found wreck, a few centuries BC, and shows how the mythological hero Odysseus sailed past the Sirens.

The researchers removed a small piece of the wreck to date it, but then left the ship alone.

The Black Sea Archeology Project is a three-year project that traces shipwrecks at great depths in the Black Sea. Meanwhile, more than sixty have already been found.

The world’s oldest intact shipwreck has been discovered in the Black Sea. Archaeologists say the 75-foot vessel has sat on the seabed undisturbed for more than 2,400 years.