Possible oldest shipwreck found off Türkiye
Pottery from a Bronze Age wreck near Kekova is estimated to be 4,400 to 4,700 years old.
Archaeologists say a wreck site near Kekova Island, off Türkiye’s southern coast, may be the oldest known shipwreck. The estimate is based mainly on Early Bronze Age pottery found on the seabed, while further excavation is needed to establish how much of the vessel survives.
Türkiye’s Culture and Tourism Minister announced on Wednesday that underwater excavations near Kekova Island in Antalya had uncovered amphorae dating from roughly 4,700 years ago. The finds are associated with a small trading vessel from the Early Bronze Age, a period broadly contemporary with the construction of Egypt’s Great Pyramid.
The site was documented during an Akdeniz University survey in 2024. A preliminary report by Hakan Öniz and Ceyda Öztosun describes cargo vessels resembling Early Bronze Age pottery from the Levant. Two amphorae were recovered for closer examination, one in 2024 and another in 2025.
Researchers estimate the wreck’s age at between 4,400 and 4,700 years by comparing the pottery’s form, decoration and clay characteristics with material from other archaeological sites. The surviving cargo is therefore central to the dating. The wooden structure of the vessel has not been established in the available report, so the word “shipwreck” refers primarily to the wreck site and its associated cargo.
The pottery may have been used to carry products such as olive oil or wine. The research suggests that the vessel was a small ship travelling from east to west, although this direction is an interpretation of the evidence rather than a directly observed fact. Similar pottery in Egypt, Troy and Crete points to connections across the eastern Mediterranean, but it does not by itself prove the ship’s precise route or destination.
Stone anchors were also found near the site: two with three holes and one with a single hole. The researchers caution that it is not yet known whether any of them belonged to this particular vessel. That uncertainty matters because anchors can help identify a ship’s size and period, but only when their association with a wreck is secure.
The research is presented as a preliminary report rather than a final reconstruction of the vessel. The authors say further excavation is planned at the current site and at deeper points on the seabed in 2026. Conservation and analysis of the recovered objects may provide more evidence about ancient Mediterranean trade, while the claim to have found the world’s oldest shipwreck remains provisional and dependent on how archaeologists define and compare wreck sites.
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The article distinguishes reported archaeological findings from interpretation and uses cautious language around the “oldest” claim. The research status, dating evidence and uncertainty about the anchors are consistent with the published preliminary report.
- confirmed The site is near Kekova Island in Antalya, Türkiye. — Stated in the research report and independent reports. source
- confirmed The pottery is associated with an Early Bronze Age wreck estimated at 4,400 to 4,700 years old. — The age range and period are reported by Euronews and the archaeological coverage. source
- confirmed Akdeniz University documented the site in 2024 and two amphorae were recovered in 2024 and 2025. — Described in the abstract of the published preliminary report. source
- confirmed The cargo may have carried products such as olive oil or wine. — The archaeological report links one amphora type to commercial transport of agricultural products; the Turkish ministry’s account mentions olive oil or wine. source
- confirmed Three stone anchors were found, but their association with the wreck is uncertain. — The research report lists two three-holed and one single-holed anchor and explicitly says their association is not known. source
- confirmed The claim that this is the world’s oldest shipwreck remains provisional. — This is an editorially cautious characterisation of the preliminary evidence and the uncertainties identified by the researchers. source
Editor's note
The dating and archaeological interpretation are supported by a published preliminary report and same-day reporting. The superlative claim is treated cautiously because the wooden hull is not established and some anchors may not belong to the wreck.Sources
- Preliminary Report on the Early Bronze Age Shipwreck in the Kekova Region of Antalya — Journal of Maritime Archaeology, Springer Nature
- World’s oldest shipwreck off Turkey: 4,700-year-old amphorae discovered — Euronews
- 4,700-year-old amphorae discovered near Türkiye’s Kekova Island — Anadolu Agency
More on this in other media
- The Independent — „archaeology shipwreck”
- BBC News — „archaeology shipwreck”
- The Guardian — „archaeology shipwreck”