'Oldest Intact' Shipwreck Found in Black Sea

On Tuesday, the wreckage of a more than 2,400-year-old ancient Greek trading ship was found in the Black Sea. Scientists found the 23-meter-long ship with its mast, rudders and benches intact.

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“A small piece of the vessel has been carbon dated and it is confirmed as the oldest intact shipwreck known to mankind,” according to Sea Maritime Archaeology Project (MAP), a British-led group which collaborated with archaeologists and maritime scientists from Bulgaria, Sweden, the United States and Greece.

The ship was found about 1.6 kilometers underwater and more than 80 kilometers off the coast of the Bulgarian city of Burgas. The vessel was reportedly used to trade goods between the Mediterranean Sea and Greek colonies on the coast of the Black Sea.

The vessels’ condition is attributed to the environment’s anoxicity (lack of oxygen) at the depth in which it was found. “A ship surviving intact from the classical world, lying in over 2 kilometers of water, is something I would never have believed possible,” Professor Jon Adams, lead researcher of MAP, stated.

For the scientists in the exploratory group, the finding represents a window through which history can be explored with greater precision. “This will change our understanding of shipbuilding and seafaring in the ancient world.”