Archeologists Are Planning to Sink This Ship Dozens of Times - Facts So Romantic

In 1967, a team of archaeologists led by Michael Katzev dove to the bottom of the churning Aegean Sea. They were tipped off by a sponge diver who, about two years earlier, spotted something unusual a mile offshore of Kyrenia harbor, in Cyprus: a lumpy mound of pottery covered by a fuzzy layer of sediment.

Katzev’s team ended up finding what was once a 47-foot-long ship, which turned out to be about 70 percent intact. The Kyrenia ship, as it’s called, is the oldest known Greek vessel (another wreck discovered near Uluburun, Turkey, dated to the end of the 14th century BCE, is the oldest ship overall). Archeologists believe that it sailed around the time of Alexander the Great, carrying trade goods like wine, salt, and almonds for a period of 15 to 20 years. A microcosm of that ancient world, the Kyrenia is one of the most prized archaeological discoveries in a nation famous for them. Its golden timbers, which survived 23 centuries under the anaerobic silt, turned dark from oxidation within days of its first exposure to the open air.

Taking stock of the ship’s cargo and figuring out how it sank has been arduous. “Unlike…
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