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Archaeologists find what may be the world's oldest shipwreck off Turkey

Phys.org 18 October 2026 1 min read

In short

  • A team of archaeologists believes the wreck off Turkey's coast is the oldest in the world.
  • Little of the ship survives, so clues from its cargo, including pottery vessels, were used.
  • Researchers have tentatively dated the wreck to around 2700 to 2400 B.C.

Why the Good News Desk likes this one

The wreck is believed to be the oldest known shipwreck, and its age rests on clues from its cargo, including pottery vessels. The ship itself is mostly gone, so the dating is tentative and may be revised. Even so, it gives researchers an early reference point for how people moved goods by sea.

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From Phys.org

A shipwreck off the coast of Turkey is the oldest shipwreck in the world, our team of archaeologists believes. There's little left of the ship itself, but based on clues from its cargo—including pottery vessels—a research team I was part of has tentatively dated the wreck to around 2700–2400 B.C.

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For kids

Long, long ago, a boat sank in the sea off the coast of Turkey. Today, scientists have found its wreck. The pottery it carried helps them guess how old it is. Talk about it: What do you think the sailors carried on their boat?

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