Kapal karam tertua di dunia ditemukan di lepas pantai Turki

Artefacts from the ship were found just off the coast of Kekova Island

The world's oldest shipwreck has been discovered off the coast of Turkey, archaeologists say.

They have dated it to between 4,400 and 4,700 years old, which is the Early Bronze Age, and is around the same time that the Great Pyramid was being built.

The ship's wooden structure has not survived, but the ceramic storage pots it was carrying were lying on the sea floor and, remarkably, some still contain traces of what they held inside.

The archaeologists who found the ship say it was about 10m in length and was a trade vessel carrying cargo across the Mediterranean Sea.

"The shipwreck is a time capsule at the bottom of the sea," said Prof Hakan Öniz, from Akdeniz University in Turkey, who led the Mediterranean Archaeology Association expedition.

The divers found three stone anchors, as ships carried spares on long voyages

The wreck is close to the shore of Kekova Island in Antalya, Turkey. The artefacts lie scattered across an underwater slope, just 30m beneath the waves.

Three large stone anchors were found, as well as more than 30 ceramic storage pots, called amphorae.

The fact that none of the ship's wood remained meant techniques like radiocarbon dating - which measures a form of carbon in organic materials - could not be used to determine its age.

Instead, archaeologists analysed the shape of the amphorae. Because pottery styles have changed over time, different styles are linked to particular periods.

The Kekova ceramics are distinctive, with two handles, a ridge in the middle and a flat base.

Öniz said this design matched other amphorae unearthed in Egypt and the Middle East that were known to be 4,400-4,700 years old.

"Comparing the decoration techniques… we can definitely say our wreck is Early Bronze Age. This is 100%."

The amphorae were recovered and taken on board the research ship

After thousands of years underwater, the fragile artefacts are now being carefully conserved

Divers from the expedition brought the pots up to the surface, where they are now being carefully conserved after so many thousands of years underwater.

Dr Karin Sowada, an archaeologist from Macquarie University, Australia, examined the amphorae after they were recovered. Some were intact and she was surprised to see they still contained a viscous, glossy residue.

"I looked inside and nearly fainted. I could not believe how much [residue] was visible. It wasn't just like spots…. a lot of this material was still remaining," she said.

The team is now working to find out exactly what was being carried in the amphorae.

"It could be olive oil, it could be wine, it could be tree resins," Sowada said.

"It's possible that [the residue] could actually be the result of reuse of the jars. I mean, these jars are huge - they're not things that you just ship away and then never see again. People would have emptied these jars on arrival and potentially used them for many, many, many years."

The wreck and its cargo are also shedding light on trade in the ancient world.

The archaeologists say the ship started its voyage from somewhere along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean.

They believe it was taking goods to either the ancient city of Troy, in what is now north-western Turkey, or to the Minoan people in Crete.

The divers worked underwater to carefully excavate the artefacts

Travelling by sea was fraught with danger, particularly around Kekova Island, where the strong currents and winds have claimed many ships.

There are hundreds of wrecks in the area, and the Mediterranean Archaeology Association specialises in finding and studying them.

Öniz says that when he is diving on the wreck his first thoughts are about the lives of the people who were connected to this vessel.

"We are the first humans who [have] touched these objects after 5,000 years.

"We are always thinking of the sailors... the producers of the amphora and the person who carried the amphora on their shoulders to the ship, and the women who were waiting for their husbands, and they unfortunately couldn't go back."

The shipwreck is owned by the Turkish Ministry of Culture. Its minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said the artefacts that have been recovered would be put on display in the new Mediterranean Underwater Archaeology Museum in Antalya when it opens in the coming months.

The depth meant the divers could only spend 30 minutes at a time exploring it

The Kekova discovery now tops the list of the world's oldest shipwrecks.

Previously, the record holder was a wreck off the coast of Dokos, an island in southern Greece, which dates to about 4,200 years ago.

The oldest known intact shipwreck, where the wood is still preserved, was found in the Black Sea off the coast of Bulgaria. It dates to about 2,400 years ago.

Artefak dari kapal ditemukan tepat di lepas pantai Pulau Kekova

Para arkeolog mengatakan bangkai kapal tertua di dunia telah ditemukan di lepas pantai Turki.

Mereka memperkirakan usianya antara 4.400 hingga 4.700 tahun, yang merupakan Zaman Perunggu Awal, dan sekitar waktu yang sama dengan pembangunan Piramida Agung.

Struktur kayu kapal tersebut tidak bertahan, tetapi pot-pot keramik penyimpanan yang diangkutnya tergeletak di dasar laut dan, yang menakjubkan, beberapa di antaranya masih mengandung jejak isinya.

Para arkeolog yang menemukan kapal itu mengatakan panjangnya sekitar 10 m dan merupakan kapal dagang yang membawa kargo melintasi Laut Mediterania.

"Bangkai kapal ini adalah kapsul waktu di dasar laut," kata Prof Hakan Öniz, dari Universitas Akdeniz di Turki, yang memimpin ekspedisi Asosiasi Arkeologi Mediterania.

Para penyelam menemukan tiga jangkar batu, karena kapal membawa cadangan untuk pelayaran jauh

Bangkai kapal itu berada dekat dengan pantai Pulau Kekova di Antalya, Turki. Artefak-artefak itu tersebar di lereng bawah laut, hanya 30 m di bawah permukaan air.

Tiga jangkar batu besar ditemukan, serta lebih dari 30 pot keramik penyimpanan, yang disebut amphora.

Karena tidak ada kayu kapal yang tersisa, teknik seperti penanggalan radiokarbon - yang mengukur suatu bentuk karbon dalam bahan organik - tidak dapat digunakan untuk menentukan usianya.

Sebagai gantinya, para arkeolog menganalisis bentuk amphora. Karena gaya tembikar berubah seiring waktu, gaya yang berbeda dikaitkan dengan periode tertentu.

Keramik Kekova sangat khas, dengan dua pegangan, tonjolan di bagian tengah, dan dasar yang rata.

Öniz mengatakan desain ini cocok dengan amphora lain yang ditemukan di Mesir dan Timur Tengah yang diketahui berusia 4.400-4.700 tahun.

"Membandingkan teknik dekorasinya... kami dapat dengan pasti mengatakan bangkai kapal kami berasal dari Zaman Perunggu Awal. Ini 100%."

Amphora-amphora itu diangkat dan dibawa ke atas kapal penelitian

Setelah ribuan tahun di bawah air, artefak-artefak rapuh itu kini sedang dikonservasi dengan hati-hati

Para penyelam dari ekspedisi itu membawa pot-pot tersebut ke permukaan, di mana kini pot-pot itu sedang dikonservasi dengan hati-hati setelah ribuan tahun berada di bawah air.

Dr Karin Sowada, seorang arkeolog dari Universitas Macquarie, Australia, memeriksa amphora-amphora itu setelah diangkat. Beberapa masih utuh dan ia terkejut melihatnya masih mengandung residu kental dan mengilap.

"Saya melihat ke dalam dan hampir pingsan. Saya tidak percaya betapa banyak [residu] yang terlihat. Bukan hanya seperti bercak.... banyak material ini masih tersisa," katanya.

Tim kini bekerja untuk mengetahui secara pasti apa yang diangkut di dalam amphora-amphora itu.

"Itu bisa minyak zaitun, bisa anggur, bisa resin pohon," kata Sowada.

"Ada kemungkinan bahwa [residu] itu sebenarnya bisa jadi akibat penggunaan ulang guci-guci ini. Maksud saya, guci-guci ini besar - ini bukan barang yang hanya dikirim lalu tidak pernah terlihat lagi. Orang-orang akan mengosongkan guci ini saat tiba dan berpotensi menggunakannya selama bertahun-tahun, sangat lama."

Bangkai kapal dan kargonya juga memberi penerangan tentang perdagangan di dunia kuno.

Para arkeolog mengatakan kapal itu memulai pelayarannya dari suatu tempat di sepanjang pantai timur Mediterania.

Mereka percaya kapal itu membawa barang ke kota kuno Troy, yang sekarang menjadi wilayah barat laut Turki, atau kepada bangsa Minoan di Kreta.

Para penyelam bekerja di bawah air untuk menggali artefak-artefak itu dengan hati-hati

Bepergian melalui laut penuh bahaya, terutama di sekitar Pulau Kekova, tempat arus dan angin kuat telah menenggelamkan banyak kapal.

Ada ratusan bangkai kapal di daerah itu, dan Asosiasi Arkeologi Mediterania mengkhususkan diri dalam menemukan dan mempelajarinya.

Öniz mengatakan bahwa ketika ia menyelam di bangkai kapal itu, pikiran pertamanya adalah tentang kehidupan orang-orang yang terhubung dengan kapal ini.

"Kami adalah manusia pertama yang [telah] menyentuh benda-benda ini setelah 5.000 tahun.

"Kami selalu memikirkan para pelaut... pembuat amphora dan orang yang membawa amphora di pundaknya ke kapal, serta para perempuan yang menunggu suami mereka, dan sayangnya mereka tidak bisa kembali."

Bangkai kapal itu dimiliki oleh Kementerian Kebudayaan Turki. Menterinya, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, mengatakan artefak-artefak yang telah diangkat akan dipamerkan di Museum Arkeologi Bawah Laut Mediterania yang baru di Antalya ketika dibuka dalam beberapa bulan mendatang.

Kedalamannya membuat para penyelam hanya bisa menghabiskan 30 menit setiap kali untuk menjelajahinya

Penemuan Kekova kini menempati peringkat teratas bangkai kapal tertua di dunia.

Sebelumnya, pemegang rekor adalah bangkai kapal di lepas pantai Dokos, sebuah pulau di Yunani selatan, yang berasal dari sekitar 4.200 tahun lalu.

Bangkai kapal utuh tertua yang diketahui, yang kayunya masih terawetkan, ditemukan di Laut Hitam di lepas pantai Bulgaria. Usianya sekitar 2.400 tahun.