A 15th‐Century Wreck of an Ordnance‐Carrying Ship from Atlit North Bay,Israel

In 1977, a shipwreck assemblage was discovered off Atlit, Israel. Finds included three iron anchors, a large bombard, four swivel guns, stone and lead shot, and bronze helmets. The bronze bombard (2210 kg, 3.247 m long) contained a wooden wad and remnants of what may have been gunpowder. The swivel guns (each 185 kg) were bronze, with swivels and the tillers of iron. Twenty (or 21) bronze helmets were recovered. The findings provide rare evidence for the mounting of heavy ordnance on the bow of a galley or ship in the 15th century.     

A Late Bronze Age Shipwreck with a Metal Cargo from Hishuley Carmel,Israel

A 13th‐century‐BC shipwreck site, Hishuley Carmel, is described and discussed. It provides direct evidence for marine transport of copper and tin along the Israeli coast and may indicate inland and maritime trade‐routes of metals in the Mediterranean. The shipwreck represents a supply‐system providing the demand for bronze in the Levant. Trace‐elements and lead‐isotope analysis suggest that the copper came from Cyprus, similarly to bun and oxhide ingots from Uluburun. The source of the tin cannot yet be ascertained. The medium‐size ship was probably grounded and wrecked during a storm. Some of the cargo may have been salvaged in Antiquity. © 2012 The Authors     

A Hellenistic/Early Roman Shipwreck Assemblage off Ashkelon, Israel

Underwater surveys at Ashkelon during 1998 exposed a Hellenistic/Roman shipwreck. The ship, c .15–25 m long, sank in the 1st or 2nd century BC, and its remains include iron anchors, lead sheathing, copper nails, assorted metal artefacts, and shipwright's unused nails. Bronze vessels found—oil-lamp, shovel and ladles—could have functioned in cult rites. Weights and balance-scale parts demonstrate commercial activity. Fishing-net sinkers indicate involvement in fishing. This paper raises important points regarding the risk to shipwrecks on the Israeli coast from environmental and human interference, and suggests that Ashkelon never had a built-up port.
© 2009 The Authors     

A New Type of Composite Anchor Dated to the Fatimid-Crusader Period from the Dead Sea, Israel

Two composite anchors of a kind not hitherto identified, each composed of a re-used ashlar block, a wooden shank, two arms and a rope, were discovered recently on the Dead Sea shoreline. Two additional anchor weights of identical type were found in the same region. The two well-preserved anchors were dated to the Fatimid-Crusader period. The shank and the arms were made from local tree species: Christ thorn and tamarisk, and both ropes of date-palm.
© 2008 The Authors     

The Cables and Cablets of the Mary Rose (1545)

Henry VIII's warship Mary Rose sank in the Solent on 19 July 1545, during an engagement with a Franco/Papal invasion fleet. During excavation between 1979 and 1982, four cable coils and a number of lengths of cable and cablets were discovered. Direct study of these, combined with the excavation, finds, and conservation records, have established the number of cables found on the wreck, their spatial organization on the vessel, and their function at the time of the wrecking. Analysis of the cables has illuminated 16th‐century rope‐making techniques. The possible presence of Tudor salvage cables is also discussed.     

Lead anchor-stock cores from Tektas Burnu, Turkey

Four sets of lead anchor-stock cores have been found recently on the 5th-century BCE Greek shipwreck at Tektag Burnu, Turkey. The anchor type these cores represent was the earliest departure from the use of stone in anchor construction. Scholars have dated this technological advance to c . 400 BCE, but the Tektas Burnu cores now indicate that the anchor type already existed in the third quarter of the 5th century BCE.