Cyprus Shipwreck Museum
In 1967, Michael Katzev of the Museum of the University of Pennsylvania led a team to survey the coast of Cyprus for shipwrecks. In Kyrenia, a sponge diver led the team to the site using a metal detector, proton magnetometer and accessories. The group spent a month surveying the site to find the ship and cargo in a large area.
During the summers of 1968 and 1969, the expedition, made up of 50 underwater archaeologists, students, and technicians, used stereophotography and other developed techniques to record the position of each object before it was lifted. Then the wooden hull of the ship, which was well preserved in the sandy mud, was ‘mapped’, tagged and lifted in pieces to the surface.
The objects in the museum are the original items on board during its last voyage some 2,300 years ago. From them we can learn about the life of those merchants. The main cargo consisted of more than 400 wine amphorae, mostly made in Rhodes, indicating that this was an important port of call for the ship.
On the other hand, ten different shapes of amphorae on board show a stopover on a different island, such as Samos in the north. Another part of the ship’s cargo was 9,000 perfectly preserved almonds, which were found in jars on the ship’s hull.
In the stone quarry, probably on the island of Kos, masons carved identification letters on the sides of 29 millstones that were placed in three rows on the keel. Although these were carried as cargo, they also acted as ballast.
From this knowledge, it can be assumed that the ship sailed south along the Anatolian coast, calling at Samos, Kos, and Rhodes before continuing east to its final resting place in Cyprus.
During the voyage, it appears from the more than 300 net pesos of lead left in the bow that the crew supplemented their diet with fishing. Meals were probably prepared on land, using large bronze pots and cauldrons.
Sets of four wooden spoons, oil cans, salt shakers and cups recovered from the wreck suggest the number of crew members on the last voyage. The ship’s only sail had been knocked down before it sank as more than 100 lead rings from a large square sail stowed there were found at the stern.
The wooden hull, built mainly of Aleppo pine and originally measuring 47 feet, was preserved for a length of almost 40 feet, sailing at 4 or 5 knots. The ship was built in the ‘shell first’ manner, the complete opposite of the current method. Instead of first building a skeleton of ribs, its outer planking was built from the keel and the ribs were then laid and secured with copper spikes. The ship was intended for long service and underwent many repairs. In the last repair a skin of lead coating was applied to her body to keep the old ship waterproof. From analysis it is thought that the ship was over 80 years old on the day she sank.
The preservation and conservation of the ship began in 1970 and took four years. Most of the restoration was completed after the Turkish Peace Operation and ended in the year 1976. The last contributions were made to finish the project and open it as a cultural service to the world. Our thanks to the Museum of the University of Pennsylvania and other institutions that provided generous funds for the project and especially to the director, Mr. Michael Katsev, and the members of the project.