The Largest Discovery of Its Kind — Ever

January 15,2015



 
An amazing discovery may be revealing the secrets of ancient shipbuilding.
In Istanbul, Turkey, over the last 11 years, archeologists have excavated 37 surprisingly well-preserved shipwrecks.
This is the largest group of ancient ships uncovered in one place, archaeologists said in a new paper published in the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology.
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Dating to the Byzantine Empire, these ships once floated in the Mediterranean waters of the historic capital city known as Constantinople, which is modern day Istanbul.
Eight vessels, including ones from the 5th Century to the late 10th Century, were recently highlighted in their new paper.
Throughout the dig, archaeologists have been able to see how shipbuilding design has morphed over a half millenium.
One big thing archaeologists noticed is the shift from the traditional method of building a ship from the shell first to a more modern way of skeleton-first over the centuries.