1,500-year-old shipwreck discovered off Türkiye's western coast

BALIKESİR

A 1,500-year-old trade shipwreck has been discovered off the coast of Ayvalık in Türkiye's Balıkesir province as part of the "Turkish Shipwreck Inventory Project: Blue Heritage."

Using domestically designed and produced robotic underwater vehicles, researchers identified the wreck 2.5 miles off the coast.

Dating to the late fifth century, the wreck contains approximately 10,000 ceramic plates and is described as the largest "plate shipwreck" found in the Aegean and Mediterranean seas.

The ship’s open-sea location contributed to its remarkable preservation, according to authorities.

Harun Özdaş, director of Dokuz Eylul University's Center for Underwater Cultural Heritage and Maritime History (SUDEMER), said the ship likely sailed from North Africa or Cyprus toward Istanbul but sank in a storm off Ayvalık.

"The ship measures about 15 meters [49.2 feet] in length and 9 meters in width,” Özdaş said. He added, alongside plates, a small number of amphorae, a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size, were also discovered in the wreck.

Özdaş said that until today, it was known that ceramics produced in North Africa, Egypt and Syria were taken to Anatolia, Greece or Italy, but there were no clear findings underwater regarding the trade.

"The ship’s primary cargo consisted of plates. Photogrammetric studies revealed around 10,000 plates on the surface," he said.

This untouched wreck is "significant," offering a "rich and diverse collection," Özdaş added.