World’s oldest shipwreck found off coast of Turkiye

By Al Jazeera Staff and Anadolu. Published On 14 Oct 202614 Oct 2026.

Key points

• Turkiye's Culture Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has remarked the country unearthed ancient treasures from what he called "the world's oldest shipwreck".
• Researchers believe the ship was sailing from the Levantine coast towards modern-day Hisarlik in Turkiye or the island of Crete in Greece when it capsized and sank.
• The excavation was directed by Hakan Oniz, an associate professor of archaeology at Akdeniz University.
• "However, we later became excited when we saw the same amphora forms in a publication on Egyptian archaeology and returned to the site, " he remarked.
• The discovery has "shed light on the deep-rooted history of maritime trade along the Anatolian coasts, " continued Ersoy.

Underwater excavations near Kekova Island in the southern Antalya province uncovered ceramic storage jars dating back 4, 700 years to the Early Bronze Age, Ersoy confirmed in a post on X on Wednesday.

While the vessel's wooden hull did not survive, archaeologists recovered the ancient storage jars after an underwater excavation project rolled out earlier this year.

For context, the jars, believed to have transported olive oil or wine, provide concrete evidence of early maritime trade and cultural exchange throughout the eastern Mediterranean, according to the ministry.

Clay analysis indicated the containers were manufactured in workshops in the Jordan Valley, matching similar styles previously discovered in Egypt, Turkiye, and Greece that illustrate extensive Bronze Age sea routes.

One vessel was singled out for its unique design, featuring nine markings and two holes in its body that suggest it may have been applied to churn butter or cheese.

Meanwhile, the excavation was directed by Hakan Oniz, an associate professor of archaeology at Akdeniz University.

Speaking to the BBC, the professor remarked when his team first identified the wreck four years ago, the jars only appeared to be a century or two old.

"However, we later became excited when we saw the same amphora forms in a publication on Egyptian archaeology and returned to the site, " he remarked. "Indeed, they were similar to those discovered at the Giza pyramids in Egypt. We were incredibly excited."

In practice, the discovery has "shed light on the deep-rooted history of maritime trade along the Anatolian coasts, " continued Ersoy.

For now, world's oldest shipwreck found off coast of Turkiye remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.