A team of researchers thinks a ship off Turkey may be the world's oldest known wreck. Hakan Öniz of Akdeniz University found it near Kekova in 2024. Local sailors gave him clues about the place. Nothing remains of the wooden ship, but its pots are still there.
The team studied the pots and how people made them. They think the ship sank between about 2700 and 2400 BC, around 4,500 years ago. The oldest previously known wreck, near Dokos in Greece, is about 4,200 years old. The new date is not certain, and the team needs to do more work.
The ship carried large pots with two handles. Some still hold small amounts of their old contents. These may be olive oil, wine or a sticky material from trees. Scientists still need to test them.
The ship travelled along Turkey's southern coast, but its direction is unknown. Its goods may help explain how people bought and sold things across the eastern Mediterranean. The team has not yet published the results in a science journal with checks by other experts.
