19th century ships and ancient harbour found off Israeli coast

Published on November 30th, 2012 | by Sevaan Franks

Archaeologists working at Akko, one of the major ancient ports of the eastern Mediterranean, have found a fleet of early-19th century ships and ancient harbor structures that date back to the 3rd-1st centuries B.C.

During the brief time the shipwrecks were exposed, the Israel Antiquities Authority investigated one of them: a 32 meter vessel which still preserved its brass gudgeon (rudder socket) and many small artifacts, such as plates, a candlestick, and even a cooking pot with bones in it. Laboratory analyses completed this summer by the IAA revealed that the ship’s wood came from Turkey. The team believes these ships may have belonged to the Egyptian navy under Admiral Osman Nurredin Bey, whose ships were severely damaged in his attempt to capture Akko in the Egyptian-Ottoman War of 1831. The town eventually fell to Egyptian land forces under Ibrahim Pasha in 1832.

“These ships have occasionally been exposed and buried again by storms since we found them,” Buxton said. “We’re in a race against time to find other ships in the area and learn from them before storms totally dislodge or destroy them.”

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Story: Physorg | Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Tags: Akko, Harbours, Israel, Shipwrecks, Underwater