In 1982, Turkish sponge diver Mehmed Çakir was diving for sponges off the coast of Uluburun in southwestern Turkey.
He was at a depth of approximately 44 meters when he came across a strange jumble of objects, half-buried in the silt and sand.
He knew he had discovered something ancient and immediately alerted archaeologists.
But he could not have guessed how old these artifacts were and how important they would prove to be.
Investigations revealed that Çakir had discovered an ancient Bronze Age shipwreck.
Archaeologists date the ship's construction to 1300 BC, making it over 3300 years old.
The ship was built of Lebanese cedar wood, between 15 and 16 meters long, and equipped with 24 stone anchors.
It apparently sank after colliding with the rocky coast; perhaps it was driven onto the rocks by a storm.
What followed was one of the most ambitious salvage operations in archaeology.
From 1984 to 1994, eleven consecutive campaigns took place, each lasting three to four months.
A total of 22,413 dives were carried out.
The sloping underwater railing in the area of the wreck posed a major challenge for the divers.
As the wreck sank, it broke apart and the fragments and cargo were scattered down the steep slope of the seabed.
Artifacts were found at a depth of 44 to 61 meters.
But it was the sheer range and diversity of these goods that truly astonished the divers.
The objects on board originated from a wide variety of regions, from Northern Europe to Africa, from Sicily and Sardinia to Mesopotamia.
The ship contained 10 tons of copper and 1 ton of tin in so-called oxhide ingots (enough to melt 11 tons of bronze).
One jug was filled with glass beads, many others with terebinth resin, which is used as a wine preservative and medicine.
The numerous vessels found on board also contained a wide variety of organic material, which scientists were able to identify using modern methods. This includes:
- Almonds and pine nuts
- Figs
- Olives
- Grapes
- Safflower
- Black cumin
- Coriander
- Pomegranates
From all these finds, archaeologists were able to create a picture of how trade connected the kingdoms of the late Bronze Age.
The example of this shipwreck shows us that a lively exchange of goods took place and that these societies were interconnected in many ways just like ours today.
The 3,300-year-old wreck of Uluburun shows how long people have been crossing great distances just to meet people in distant countries and exchange goods.
It reminds us how much this human instinct has driven our progress, and also what was lost through the collapse in the Bronze Age.