Kyrenia Ship - Career

Career

The ship sailed in the Mediterranean during the lifetime of Alexander the Great and his successors. She sank in open waters less than a mile from the anchorage of Kyrenia. The evidence points to her being taken by rough seas around the year 300 BC, when she was rather old, though piracy is becoming more likely.

The sinking of the Kyrenia could have been caused by many factors, but evidence suggests that piracy and old age could have all contributed to the ship’s fate.

Archaeologists found spear points in the hull. While these could very well be used for the protection of the crew, rubber casts indicate that they were in contact with the lead sheathing covering the ship. This would suggest that the points were stuck inside the hull when it sank - possible evidence of an attack. In typical merchant ships the captain would have a balance, weights, and coinage for measuring and trading goods- all of which were missing. Even more surprising is that over a ton of cargo is absent from the wreckage. This leads researchers to believe that the ship must have been plundered at some point. What opens up this argument further is the presence of a curse tablet in the wreckage. A pirate, for example, would hammer the lead tablet to a part of the boat as it sank in hopes that the dark magic the tablet evoked would conceal the evidence of their crime. These facts, taken together, lead many to believe that piracy played a part in the vessel's sinking.

The ship was in use by merchants for 15–25 years. Knowing that the ship was old, archaeologists could use the repairs on the Kyrenia to better understand classical carpentry. The hull’s age increased the need for the defense against water loss, so any repairs would give very specific evidence to the problems facing ancient ships. A break in the ship’s keel was fixed, and the outside of the ship was protected with pitch and lead sheathing. These measures were taken to extend the ship’s lifespan. Closer analysis of the rabbets in the hull’s frame suggest that the mast step had been moved up to three, and possibly four times. This movement happens to be in close proximity with a well to collect bilge water. Because of this, archaeologists surmise that the movement of the mast step was to make way for a larger bilge pump, capable of dealing with the greater needs of the aging ship. The extreme measures to deal with water infiltration corroborate the frailty of this ship, which very likely contributed to the ship’s sinking.

All these factors could have worked together to cause the sinking. The definitive answer cannot be known completely, but the ship is still important to scholars. The hull’s near-complete preservation, along with the extent of its reconstruction, adds to our knowledge concerning ship building in antiquity.