Science/Medicine : World’s Oldest Shipwreck?

Gold, silver, ivory and other treasures found in the remains of a ship wrecked off the coast of Turkey probably date to the time of King Tutankhamen of Egypt, archeologists say.

The wreck, near the Turkish resort town of Kas, dates to about 1350 BC and has yielded artifacts of nearly every culture known from the eastern Mediterranean during the Bronze Age, said George Bass of Texas A&M; University and director of the excavation.

The principal cargoes of the ship are copper ingots that weigh about 60 pounds each and storage jars called amphoras. The jars carried a variety of cargo from resins to glass beads.

One unique object is a solid gold scarab bearing the name of 14th Century BC Queen Nefertiti of Egypt. The scarab, an Egyptian amulet in the shape of a beetle, was found with a hoard of scrap gold, which indicates it was something that had been pawned or lost.

The shipwreck, which could be the oldest known, was discovered by a Turkish sponge diver in 1982. At least two or three years of excavation remain before the ship and its cargo are entirely recovered. Excavators, who can work only 20 minutes because of the depth, hope to raise the hull.