The number of shipwrecks found during archaeological surveys off the Antalya coast has reached 365.
During the underwater archeology surveys carried out off the coast of Antalya, the number of shipwrecks dated between the 7th century BC and the 12th century AD and recorded in the inventory increased to 365.
Head of Kumluca Middle Bronze Age Shipwreck Excavation Assoc. Dr. In addition to underwater excavations, Hakan Öniz and his team also carried out underwater archeology surface surveys on the coasts of Antalya and Mersin with the permission of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
With the work carried out under difficult conditions with the help of high-tech sonar devices and robots, 15 new shipwrecks were discovered off the coast of Antalya. In addition to the excavations in the Kumluca Middle Bronze Age Shipwreck, which is described as the “oldest known shipwreck” in the world, the discovery of new shipwrecks loaded with amphoras created excitement. With these discoveries, the number of shipwrecks found in the region and recorded in the inventory in 12 years reached 365.
Öniz, who is also the Head of the Mediterranean Underwater Cultural Heritage Department of Akdeniz University Mediterranean Civilizations Research Institute, told the AA correspondent that they reached important shipwrecks during the underwater archeology surface surveys that lasted 45 days this year.
Stating that they used advanced technology in the research, Öniz said, “We worked with one of the most modern archaeological ships in the world. We worked with advanced sonar devices and underwater robots. As divers, we achieved important results by working with scuba diving technology.”
Stating that they carried out the work with the support of UPL Ziraat company, Öniz stated that they added 15 archaeological shipwrecks belonging to the time period between the 7th century BC and the 12th century AD to the national inventory this year.
Three-dimensional modeling of each shipwreck is made
Hakan Öniz stated that the excavation of a shipwreck sometimes takes 10 years and that the oldest shipwreck is important for archaeologists.
Stating that they made three-dimensional models of each shipwreck, Öniz said, “In some shipwrecks, the ships hit the shore and sank at 5 meters, some at depths of 45-50 meters. Ships hitting the shore are sometimes exposed to storms for 2 thousand years. The cargo and wood of the ship are dispersed. Since the storm does not affect the shipwrecks at very deep depths, the dimensions of the ship and we can have an idea about its cargo.” he said.
Öniz pointed out that waves, storms and sea creatures negatively affect shipwrecks and said, “It is not possible to find a ship like in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie.” he said.
Referring to the difficulty of the work carried out under water, Öniz concluded his words as follows:
“Every shipwreck we find creates great excitement. Each shipwreck is a time capsule of its own period in terms of history. For example, if we are excavating a shipwreck dating back to the 12th century AD, we can find coins found in the 12th century, ship technology of that period, maritime trade and all kinds of information about amphorae in that shipwreck. “If it is a shipwreck from the 7th century BC, for example, if this ship carrying amphorae from Cyprus sank off the coast of Demre, we think that it carried ingredients such as olive oil, wine or fish sauce grown in Cyprus to an ancient city on the coast of Demre or somewhere further west.”
The opinions expressed herein are the author’s and not necessarily those of News2Sea.
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