Cargo from 'oldest' shipwreck unearthed off Israel's coast
Hundreds of intact amphorae, ancient storage jars estimated to be 3,300 years old, have been discovered 90 km (56 miles) off Israel's northern coast at a depth of 1,800 m (5,905 ft) on the seabed.
The cargo was located by robotic submersibles from the oil and gas company Energean, which was exploring new energy sources off the Israeli coast.
Experts from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) report that the shipwreck is the "first and oldest" found in the region, likely having sunk during a storm or due to a pirate attack.
The discovery suggests that sailors of the period might have employed celestial navigation, taking bearings from the sun and stars, to traverse the oceans.
Only two of the amphorae, believed to have been used by the Canaanite people who inhabited an area stretching from modern-day Turkey to Egypt, were removed using specially designed tools to avoid disturbing the remaining artefacts.
These jars are slated to be displayed this summer at the National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel in Jerusalem.
