Experts believe the ship was hit with a storm and crashed into either a large rock or a small island. Nevertheless, it was found in such good condition that researchers uncovered one amphora that still had intact olive pits inside.
Department of Cultural Heritage Conservation and Restoration at Akdeniz UniversityAn underwater robot retrieves an amphora used to transport olive oil from the medieval shipwreck found near Besmi Island.
For thousands of years, olive oil has been a cornerstone of Mediterranean commerce, cuisine, and culture. While very few olive oil containers have been discovered among historic shipwrecks in the region, Türkiye has recently made its first groundbreaking find of this kind.
Located off the coast of Türkiye’s Besmi Island, a 1,100-year-old shipwreck was recently explored by a team of researchers from Akdeniz University with the help of divers and underwater robots. The team extracted several amphorae used to transport olive oil as well as some intact olive seeds dating back to the 9th and 10th centuries C.E.
The ship sank during a storm, leaving its valuable cargo preserved underwater for more than a millennium.
Discovering Artifacts From A Medieval Shipwreck Found Off Türkiye’s Coast
Department of Cultural Heritage Conservation and Restoration at Akdeniz UniversityThe researchers’ exploration vessel.
In 2024, Associate Professor Hakan Öniz, head of the Department of Cultural Heritage Conservation and Restoration at Akdeniz University’s Faculty of Fine Arts, began exploring the waters near Türkiye’s Besmi Island, located roughly 90 miles east of the ancient city of Rhodes, home to the famed Colossus.
These research expeditions, supported by the Underwater Archaeology Museum in Kemer, were meant to collect scientific and historical data related to historical sites of interest that are located just off the coast of the mainland. During their 12-month research, Öniz and his team focused heavily on one wreck in particular: a 1,100-year-old ship that was found roughly 40 to 50 meters deep. The wreck was a known tourist spot, although no one had recovered any artifacts due to its largely inaccessible depth.
Department of Cultural Heritage Conservation and Restoration at Akdeniz UniversityThe research vessel hoists items from the wreck.
Working with underwater robots, Öniz and his team explored the wreck and discovered a plethora of amphorae, two-handled ancient jars used for storing and transporting goods in the ancient world. The crew was shocked to find both olive seeds and traces of olive oil inside the containers — artifacts that had never been recovered in Türkiye’s waters before.
“The wreck was very interesting due to its depth and its cargo. Olive oil and wine were goods carried by ships in ancient times. But what came out of one amphora was particularly striking. While [the ship’s] existence was known, we had never seen these findings in amphorae until now. In fact, there are only a few examples of it globally, and this is a first in Türkiye,” Öniz told Hurriyet Daily News.
The Ship’s Origins And Its Place In The Olive Oil Trade In The Mediterranean
Department of Cultural Heritage Conservation and Restoration at Akdeniz UniversityA diver retrieves some of the ship’s artifacts from the sea floor.
After retrieving a number of artifacts from the shipwreck, Öniz and his crew got to work analyzing them for clues about the ship’s origins and its fateful last journey.
Details on the amphorae and the ship revealed that they originated from Palestine roughly 1,100 years ago, in the 9th and 10th centuries C.E.
Researchers believe that the ship encountered a storm off the coast of modern-day Kaş, Türkiye, and sank after hitting a rock or small island.
“This ship that we were working on was caught in a storm off the coast of Kaş while it was being transported from Gaza to a point we do not yet know with olive oil loaded in amphoras. It sank after hitting a small rock or a small island there,” Öniz explained to Milliyet.
Department of Cultural Heritage Conservation and Restoration at Akdeniz UniversityResearchers sift through the artifacts, including intact olive seeds.
Based on the typology of the amphorae and the importance of Gaza as a production center for olive oil, the research team felt confident that this region was the ship’s place of origin. As far back as the Bronze Age (2,000 B.C.E. to 700 B.C.E.), Gaza was a major center of olive oil production.
Olives also served as a crucial food source for the sailors who transported them, as they could withstand long journeys without spoiling.
“Olives placed in amphorae would become edible in seawater within a week and could last for months without spoiling. For this reason, it was an essential food,” Öniz explained. “We also know that they carried live animals and wheat on ships, and in the ship’s mills, it was ground into flour and bread was made.”
Because of their importance to both Mediterranean commercial history and the underwater archaeological heritage of Türkiye, these exciting findings are set to go on display at the Mediterranean Underwater Archaeology Museum in Kemer, Türkiye.
After reading about this shipwreck, dive into the story of Tyrian purple, history’s rarest and most expensive dye, worn only by ancient elites. Then, read about how the rise of the mysterious Sea Peoples led to the collapse of the Bronze Age.
