Around 1320 BCE, a merchant ship sank off the coast of Turkey with its entire cargo. On board, about 10 tonnes of copper and 1 tonne of tin, enough to spark a substantial bronze production. This metal was never delivered, and the identity of those who awaited it remains an open question.
- The ship carried about 10 tonnes of copper and 1 tonne of tin.
- Excavations spanned eleven campaigns between 1984 and 1994.
- The site lies at depths of 44 to 52 meters, on a slope of around 45°.
- The cargo also included glass, amber, ivory and a scarab bearing the name of Nefertiti.
A sponge diver and the ‘ear-shaped’ metal ingots
Everything begins in 1982, near Cape Uluburun, off Kaş. Mehmet Çakır, a local diver, was looking for sponges when he noticed strange objects. He sketched them, and his drawings depicted what he described as “ear-shaped metal biscuits,” which his captain identified as copper ingots in the form of cowhide.
A single drawing triggered eleven campaigns of excavation.
Led by the Institute of Nautical Archaeology under the direction first of George Bass and then Cemal Pulak, the project brought together American and Turkish archaeologists for eleven consecutive campaigns of three to four months each, between 1984 and 1994. The tally reached 22,413 dives at a single site. The teams spent 6,613 hours underwater, the equivalent of more than nine months without interruption. In the end, around 17 tonnes of ancient artefacts were recovered.
A 45-degree slope and 20 minutes per dive
The site was far from comfortable. Remains were located between 44 and 52 meters deep, with elements scattered down to 61 meters, on a slope close to 45°, where even a slight shift of material could damage artefacts. The cargo spread across roughly 250 square meters after most of the hull disappeared.
The depth worked both ways. It preserved the wreck from looting, but each diver could perform only two twenty-minute dives per day.
Each piece recovered then followed a precise path. It was desalinated and cataloged in a surface laboratory set up at a temporary base in Kaş. The team included archaeologists as well as conservators, illustrators and specialists in metallurgy and ceramics. Underwater, some damaged ingots were even consolidated on-site with epoxy that cures underwater and plaster.
Ten tonnes of copper, one tonne of tin: the bronze recipe
The heart of the cargo consisted of more than 10 tonnes of copper in ingots known as “oxhide,” each weighing about 24 kg, totaling 354 pieces. They likely came from Cypriot mines. These oxhide ingots, with their four “ears,” were easier to handle and lash than unshaped blocks.
Next came tin. The ship carried copper and tin in the usual 10-to-1 ratio to produce bronze. According to the article in Science Post, this wreck is the largest intact metal stock of the ancient world ever found.
The rest of the cargo reads like a catalog of the known world. Among the items were 175 disk-shaped glass ingots, colored cobalt blue, turquoise, and a distinctive lavender; roughly a tonne of pistachio-resin in Canaean jars; but also raw elephant tusks, ostrich eggshells and faience beads. Among the prestige pieces is a gold scarab bearing the name of Nefertiti. The assemblage links at least seven Mediterranean cultures.
An order that was never delivered
The ship measured about 15 meters in length and could carry more than 20 tonnes. Some authors view it as cargo destined for a royal order, a hypothesis rather than a proven fact. No one can name with certainty the port of arrival, nor the sovereign or workshop that was counting on this metal.
One thing is certain: the boat never arrived.
The dating of the sinking rests on thorough analyses. INA places it at 1320 BCE, with a margin of 15 years, and cites a 2009 study dedicated to the absolute age of the wreck. By contrast, most of these goods were known only from ancient texts or Egyptian tomb paintings prior to this discovery.
Today, the objects can be seen at the Bodrum Underwater Archaeology Museum, and the same source notes that conservation, sampling and study continue. The wreck belongs to the Republic of Turkey, and its study is entrusted to the Institute of Nautical Archaeology.
Sources: nauticalarch.org | lesitedelhistoire.blogspot.com
