The discovery of the oldest shipwreck in the world changes what was known about navigation in ancient times.

Israeli archaeologists say that cargo from the oldest shipwreck in the world has been discovered in the eastern Mediterranean.

90 kilometers off the coast of northern Israel, at a depth of 1,800 meters, hundreds of intact amphorae (ancient vessels) were found, estimated to be 3,300 years old.

Experts from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) claim that The discovery suggests that sailors of the time were capable of navigating the oceans using celestial navigation.that is, guided by the sun and the stars.

The wreck was found during routine oil and gas exploration.

According to the IAA, the wreck is the “first and oldest” which has been found in the region and probably sank during a storm or as a result of a pirate attack.

“This discovery reveals to us the navigation skills of ancient sailors like never before,” said Jacob Sharvit, director of the IAA marine unit.

And he added that It shows that our ancestors were capable of crossing the Mediterranean “without having line of sight towards any coast”.

“From this geographical point you can only see the horizon. To navigate they probably observed the angles of the positions of the sun and stars.”

The cargo was detected by submersible robots from the oil and gas company Energean, which was searching for new energy sources near the Israeli coast.

The cameras captured “what seemed like a large pile of pots piled up on the seabed,” according to Karnit Bahartan of the company.

Only two of the amphorae – believed to have been used by the Canaanites who lived in an area stretching from modern-day Turkey to Egypt – were removed from the water with specially designed tools so as not to disturb the rest of the objects.

Bahartan called the discovery “truly sensational.”

He noted that only two other loaded wrecks dating from the late Bronze Age in the Mediterranean are known. Both were found relatively close to the Turkish coast using normal diving equipment.

“Based on these two findings, the academic assumption until now was that trade at that time was carried out by hopping from port to port, hugging the coastline and never losing sight of it,” Bahartan said.

“The discovery of this vessel completely changes our understanding of ancient seafaring skills.

“It is the first to be found at such a great distance from the coast and without line of sight to any land mass,” he added.

The vessels are scheduled to go on display this summer at Israel’s National Archeology Campus in Jerusalem.

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