World’s oldest shipwreck discovered off coast of Turkey

A shipwreck off the coast of Turkey is the oldest shipwreck in the world, our team of archaeologists believes.

There’s little left of the ship itself but based on clues from its cargo – including pottery vessels – a research team I was part of has tentatively dated the wreck to around 2700–2400 BCE.

That’s about 4,500 years ago.

Prior to this discovery, the world’s oldest shipwreck was a wreck off the coast of Dokos, in Greece, thought to have been from about 4,200 years ago .

Much work remains to be done to finesse the conclusions, and a paper outlining the results is yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Yet the discovery could transform our understanding of ancient Mediterranean connections during the Early Bronze Age.

Here, and perhaps even earlier, lie the foundations of extensive trade routes as we know them today.

Searching for clues Associate Professor Hakan Öniz of Akdeniz University, Antalya, has worked along this coastline for decades excavating ancient shipwrecks.

Acting on clues from local seafarers, Öniz found a shipwreck in shallow waters off Kekova, west of Antalya in Turkey, in 2024 .

Earlier this year, he contacted me and asked if I would help date some of the pottery vessels found on this wreck.

As an archaeologist specialising in desert sites, this was a singular experience.

New technology, water-logged methods of excavation and laborious conservation techniques were the new normal.

Yet there is always room for learning new skills in life.

Of the ship itself there is now nothing to see, owing to underwater exposure.