Overview
- Turkish archaeologists announced on Wednesday that divers recovered more than thirty amphorae and three stone anchors from a wreck near Kekova at about 30 meters depth.
- Researchers date the assemblage to roughly 4,400–4,700 years ago based on amphora shapes and decoration, a result that would make it older than the Dokos wreck if confirmed.
- The site lacks preserved wood so dating rests on ceramic typology rather than radiocarbon tests, a standard method that carries inherent uncertainty and requires further laboratory analysis.
- Several intact jars contained viscous residues that specialists say could be olive oil, wine, or tree resins and are now being analyzed to identify the cargo and its origins.
- Turkey’s Ministry of Culture is conserving the objects and plans to exhibit them in the new Museum of Underwater Archaeology of the Mediterranean in Antalya, which will shape public access and future research.