Kyrenia Ship - Archaeological Evidence

Archaeological Evidence

The objects in Kyrenia Castle are the original ones that she carried during her last voyage about 2300 years ago. From them we can learn about the life of those traders. More than 400 wine amphoras, mostly made in Rhodes, constitute the main cargo and they indicate that the ship made an important stop at that island.

Ten distinct amphora shapes on board suggest other ports of call, such as Samos in the north. Another part of the cargo of the ship was perfectly preserved almonds, 9000 in number, that were found in jars and also within the ship's hull. The 29 millstones, laden on over the keel in three rows cargo, but at the same time served as ballast. At the stone quarry, probably on the island of Kos, masons carved letters of identification on the sides of these stones. All these bits of evidence suggest that the ship sailed southwards along the coast of Anatolia, calling at Samos, Kos and Rhodes before continuing eastwards to her destruction in Cyprus.

That the sailors fished during the voyage is clear from the more than 300 lead net weights found in the bow. Meals were probably prepared ashore, using a large casserole pot and a bronze cauldron. Four wooden spoons, four oil jugs, four salt dishes and four drinking cups recovered in the shipwreck suggest that her crew on her last voyage consisted of four seamen.

The ship's single sail had been taken down before she sank as the stern contained more than 100 lead rigging rings from a large square sail stowed there. The wooden hull, built mostly of Aleppo pine, was preserved for a length of almost 40 feet (12 m), originally measured 47 feet (14 m) long by 14½ across. The ship was built in the "shell first" manner, quite the opposite of today's method. Rather than building a skeleton of ribs first, her outer planking up from the keel was constructed and then the ribs were laid in and these were secured with copper spikes. The ship was intended for long service and underwent many repairs. In the last repair her owner(s) had a skin of lead sheathing applied to her body to keep the old ship waterproof. Carbon 14 dating of the ship's planks gives a date of 389 BC (plus or minus 44 years). Carbon 14 dating of the almonds points to a date of 288 BC (plus or minus 62 years). Hence the ship was probably more than 80 years old the day she sank.

Preservation and conservation of the ship began in 1970 and lasted four years. The Turkish Invasion in Cyprus in 1974 interrupted the work.