World's oldest known shipwreck reveals incredible Bronze Age cargo

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

This video can not be played

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

14 October 2026

A team of archaeologists have uncovered what they believe to be a Bronze Age shipwreck off the coast of Turkey.

The vessel is thought to have sank between 4,400 and 4,700 years ago, so there is no trace of the wooden ship itself, having rotted away in the water.

However, the team have found more than 30 pottery storage jars and three huge stone anchors which they have used to estimate the age of the wreck.

Amazingly, they say there are even traces of the contents of the jars, still inside.

Specialist divers have been carefully uncovering the artifacts and have brought many exciting items up to the surface be studied further.

Hunt is on for Amelia Earhart's missing plane on remote island
Shipwreck found after 60 year search
Italian divers find ancient 2,000 year old Roman shipwreck

What did the archaeologists find under the sea?

The picture is taken underwater and has a deep blue green colour. In the centre is a large shield-shaped rock with two holes a little way apart at one end and another one at the other. It is about 1m across. This is one of three ship's anchors found at the site. A piece of paper is stuck to the anchor with "KET 26 - 44" written on it. An archaeologist's red and white measuring stick is lying on the seabed at the end with the 2 holes. To the right of the stone anchor, and slightly above, where the sea floor slopes away, a diver is looking at the anchor with what looks like an underwater torch. To the left are some flat rocks partially covered with sand. — Image caption,
The divers found three stone anchors, as ships carried spares on long voyages

The wreck is thought to be a cargo ship from the early Bronze Age - a time when humans were learning to make tools and weapons from bronze.

That period in human history is around the time when the Great Pyramid of Giza was being built.

Scattered 30 metres below the surface across the seabed, around 30 amphorae - or giant storage jars - were discovered.

These large jars were often used to transport olive oil, wine or food products across long distances.

The archaeologists used the shape and style of these jars to estimate the date of the shipwreck.

Two people in lab coats and wearing blue gloves and masks are examining some of the amphorae that have been brought to the surface. They are sitting at a table at the back of a dive boat and are in the shade under the boat's roof. The person on the left has her hair tied up and is looking at an intact amphora. She is gently and carefully scraping the surface close to the neck with a scalpel. There are 4 other partial amphorae on the table. Another person who sits slightly behind and to the left, is looking at one of the other pieces of pot. In the background, on the deck of the boat are 6 plastic crates that contain more pieces of pottery brought up from the sea floor. The rocks of the coastline can be seen just behind the stern of the boat and part of a red flag that is attached to a pole on the boat is hanging down in the top right hand corner. — Image caption,
The amphorae were recovered and taken on board the research ship

Map graphic showing Europe, Middle East and Africa. The start of the voyage is labelled on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, Kekova Island is labelled - it is on the south coast of Turkey, Troy is labelled, which is in northwest Turkey and Crete in southern Greece. The indicates a possible route the ship took from the Mediterranean coast to Kekova Island, and then its possible destinations of either Troy or Crete.

Professor Hakan Öniz, from the Akdeniz University in Turkey, led the expedition by the Mediterranean Archaeology Association.

He described the wreck as a "time capsule" at the bottom of the sea.

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

Incredibly, upon retrieving some of the jars, the team were surprised to see they still contained a glossy residue, despite them remaining underwater for thousands of years.

A diver on the top left hand side of the picture is working underwater to uncover an amphora. They are wearing a black wet suit with some white writing on it and a yellow stripe. They have black goggles. A long tube, like the sort you find on a vacuum cleaner, is being used to remove the sand that has been covering the ship's cargo. In the foreground and slightly to the right is an amphora. It is mostly covered in a sort of multicoloured rocky crust and it is sitting on a small ledge but some patches of the reddish clay are visible. There is a piece of paper with some numbers and letters written on it attached to the pot. To the right and behind is a small ridge of rocks. — Image caption,
The divers worked underwater to carefully excavate the artefacts

Dr Karin Sowada, an archaeologist from Macquarie University, Australia, examined the amphorae.

"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 pots.

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

It's thought tree resins were commonly used to make perfumes or medicines at the time.

Due to the size and weight of the jars, the team believe these types of containers were used multiple times so any residue could contain a number of different substances.