Nineteenth-Century Warship Remains Discovered Near Israel

The debris of four 19th-century warships and supposedly the wrecks of an ancient Greek harbor were found by archaeologists off the Israeli coast.

The research team discovered the remains in 2011 in the ancient port of Akko, one of the utmost importance in the Mediterranean during the Hellenistic period.

The Hellenistic ships are said to be “incredible pieces of technology.” However, “we don't know much about their design, because no hulls have been found,” declared Bridget Buxton, an archaeologist at the University of Rhode Island, as cited by Live Science.

Experts believe the four ships might have been part of the Egyptian fleet, dove in the Egyptian Ottoman war.

Other artifacts dating in the Hellenistic era were found in the area during excavations, including ancient poetry, stone objects, docking tools and a stone quay. Having analyzed the findings, researchers suspect a much older Greek port might be hidden underneath the debris.

“Ancient shipwrecks are another piece of the puzzle that will help us to rewrite the story of this region at a critical time in Mediterranean history,” Buxton said.