Kyrenia
Cyprus

Unexpected Discovery

Kyrenia is the name of a town and small harbor on the north coast of Cyprus. In 1965, while hunting for sponges at a depth of 30m about 1km off shore, local diver Andreas Cariolou came across a pile of ancient amphoras. This mound of artifacts marked the resting place of an ancient Greek merchant ship which sank in the 4th century BCE. The site was surveyed and then excavated by a team from the University of Pennsylvania under the direction of Michael Katzev, from 1967-1969.

On the left, the Kyrenia shipwreck hull remains after the cargo had been excavated away; on the right, the reassmbled timbers on display in the local museum; © 1968 Robin C. M. Percy & Susan W. Katzev.

On the left, the Kyrenia shipwreck hull remains after the cargo had been excavated away; on the right, the reassmbled timbers on display in the local museum; © 1968 Robin C. M. Percy & Susan W. Katzev.
The Kyrenia shipwreck hull excavation

The Kyrenia shipwreck hull excavation
The pile of amphoras that marked the location of the Kyrenia wreck; © 1967 Michael L. Katzev.

The pile of amphoras that marked the location of the Kyrenia wreck; © 1967 Michael L. Katzev.
click on the images to enlarge

Treasure

Eventually, the wreck site yielded nearly 400 (mostly Samian and Rhodian) amphoras, nearly 30 grain millstones, coins, anchors, iron blooms, stone ballast, rope, tools, and various other pots and cooking utensils. Among the pots were found over 10,000 almonds, 18 olive pits, 760 grape seeds, over 10,000 fig seeds, and more--an amazingly huge amount of retrievable items.

Timber!

The surviving timbers and wood features of the wreck, unusual in their extent, were slowly excavated and raised. The wood was treated for preservation and conservation in special tanks from 1971 until 1973, when the remains were extensively studied (under the expert eye of J. Richard Steffy) in order to build a sailable replica and mount the wreck in the Kyrenia castle museum. The Kyrenia II replica sailed under its own power in 1985.

It seems likely that the original ship carried a crew of 4 (based on the sets of 4 personal utensils and pots found together in the ship’s hold). The vessel was likely plying the waters between Samos, Rhodes, and Cyprus for a long time before it sank, for reasons that are still not entirely clear (e.g, was it piracy or simply old age?)

The replica Kyrenia II undersail near Athens in 1985; © 1985 Yiannis Vichos.

The replica Kyrenia II undersail near Athens in 1985; © 1985 Yiannis Vichos.
An exhibit in the Kyrenia museum, Cyprus, displaying a mock up of a portion of the Kyrenia hull with the cargo repositioned in one likely original location; © 1985 Susan W. Katzev.

An exhibit in the Kyrenia museum, Cyprus, displaying a mock up of a portion of the Kyrenia hull with the cargo repositioned in one likely original location;
© 1985 Susan W. Katzev.
click on the images to enlarge

Reference
Page Created: October 5, 2004
Page Updated: December 27, 2011
URL:
Page Author: The Institute for the Visualization of History