Cape Gelidonya — Early Iron Shipwreck Bronze Ingots Reef
Late Bronze Age (c.1200 BCE) earliest excavated wreck 1960 Bass (world's first underwater excavation) and 1500 BCE earlier layer·Late Bronze ?? Canaanite ? early Phoenician 1200 BCE scrap bronze wreck·🇹🇷 Mediterranean, Kumluca, Finike, Cape Gelidonya islands (5 islets) reef near Taşlık Burnu, Turkey
About
About Cape Gelidonya — Early Iron Shipwreck Bronze Ingots Reef
Gelidonya Bass 1960 world's first underwater excavation. Recorded context — Period: Late Bronze Age (c.1200 BCE) earliest excavated wreck 1960 Bass (world's first underwater excavation) and 1500 BCE earlier layer; Culture: Late Bronze ?? Canaanite ? early Phoenician 1200 BCE scrap bronze wreck; Field status: excavated; Materials: cedar scrap hull, oxhide ingot fragments, tin ingots; Condition: wreck — small reef.
Why it mattersKey Late Bronze ?? Canaanite ? early Phoenician 1200 BCE scrap bronze wreck submerged-city with stratified sequence and regional typology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Astronomical alignment
- 02Trade network extent
Theories
- 01Seasonal gathering
- 02Defensive stronghold
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 1200 BCE wreck with 1 t scrap bronze ingots
- Period
- Late Bronze Age (c.1200 BCE) earliest excavated wreck 1960 Bass (world's first underwater excavation) and 1500 BCE earlier layer
- Culture
- Late Bronze ?? Canaanite ? early Phoenician 1200 BCE scrap bronze wreck
- Purpose
- World's first underwater excavation 1960 by Peter Throckmorton & Bass — 1200 BCE 12 m hull with scrap bronze 30 kg ingots and 19500 beads
- Rediscovered
- Modern excavation 1916
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 1500 BCE major extension
Major expansion / refurbishment at Cape Gelidonya — Early Iron Shipwreck Bronze Ingots Reef
1890 excavation
Modern rediscovery and scientific excavation of Cape Gelidonya — Early Iron Shipwreck Bronze Ingots Reef
On the ground
Structures & features
36.1930° N · 30.3400° E · -42 m · 4 mapped features
- Cape Gelidonya — Early Iron Shipwreck Bronze Ingots Reef — Principal Harbourharbourharbour at Cape Gelidonya — Early Iron Shipwreck Bronze Ingots Reef — subsidiary complex36.1943° N · 30.3399° E
- Cape Gelidonya — Early Iron Shipwreck Bronze Ingots Reef — Northern Wallwallwall at Cape Gelidonya — Early Iron Shipwreck Bronze Ingots Reef — outlier feature36.1936° N · 30.3383° E
- Cape Gelidonya — Early Iron Shipwreck Bronze Ingots Reef — Southern Templetempletemple at Cape Gelidonya — Early Iron Shipwreck Bronze Ingots Reef — hydraulic feature36.1928° N · 30.3411° E
- Cape Gelidonya — Early Iron Shipwreck Bronze Ingots Reef — Harbour Annex 4harbourharbour at Cape Gelidonya — Early Iron Shipwreck Bronze Ingots Reef — hydraulic feature36.1946° N · 30.3396° E
Gallery