Epoch-making discovery at the bottom of the Black Sea, found the oldest ship ever: it is 2,400 years old

The British newspaper The Guardian broke the news of the discovery of a ship in the depths of the Black Sea off the city of Burgas , Bulgaria. Discovered by a team of archaeologists led by Britain’s Jon Adams as part of the underwater research program called the Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project at the University of Southampton, the ship is 23 meters long and appears to be the oldest vessel in the world: a carbon-14 test carried out by the same university reportedly confirmed that the wreck dates back as far as 2,400 years, to around 400 B.C.

“A ship that has survived inclass from the classical world,” Professor Adams told the Guardian, “is something I would never have thought possible. This will change our understanding of shipbuilding and sea travel in the ancient world.” The ship, according to the team of archaeologists, was probably a merchant ship of a type that until now was known only through depictions on pottery (there is a similar one on the British Museum’s so-called Siren Vase, a work dating from the fifth century B.C. (in which the ship of Odysseus is thought to be depicted) and therefore contemporary with the ship found in the Black Sea. The wreck, according to archaeologists, will be left where it is because today’s technology does not allow it to be resurfaced from the waters without damaging it, but one fragment, as anticipated, has already undergone carbon dating in the laboratories of the University of Southampton, which would have confirmed the age of the ship. The results of the research will be presented at a conference in London later this week.

Found about two thousand meters below the waters, the ship has a mast, rudder, and oarsmen’s stations, all perfectly preserved due to the lack of oxygen at that depth, as well as the unique habitat of a closed, prehistoric basin like the Black Sea.

Pictured: the rediscovered ship

Epoch-making discovery at the bottom of the Black Sea, found the oldest ship ever: it is 2,400 years old

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.