Kyrenia (ship): Difference between revisions

| Ship launched= ca. 330315 BC<ref name="KS_Volume1"/>{{page needed|date=December 2023}}

| Ship fate= Sank, ca. 294 BC<ref name="KS_Volume1"/>{{page needed|date=December 2023}}

The '''Kyrenia Ship''' is the wreck of a 4th-century BC ancient Greek [[merchant ship]]. It was discovered by Greek-Cypriot diving instructor Andreas Cariolou in November 1965 during a storm.<ref name = KS_Volume1 /><ref name=Seven1 /> Having lost the exact position, Cariolou carried out more than 200 dives until he re-discovered the wreck in 1967 close to [[Kyrenia]] (Keryneia) in [[Cyprus]]. Michael Katzev, a graduate student at the [[University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology]], directed a scientific excavation from 1967–69.1967 Preservationto of the ship's [[timbers]] continued during the winter of 19701969. Katzev later wasbecame a co-founder of the American [[Institute of Nautical Archaeology]]. The find was extensively covered in a documentary by the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation titled "With Captain, Sailors Three: The Ancient Ship of Kyrenia". The ship itself was very well preserved andwith more than half its hull timbers in good condition. ItAfter it was raised from the seabed, it found a new home at the Ancient Shipwreck Museum in [[Kyrenia Castle]], where it remains on exhibit.<ref name = nyt1 />

The ship sailed in the [[Mediterranean]] during the lifetime of [[Alexander the Great]] and his successors. It sank in open waterswater less than a mile fromoff the ancient harborharbour of [[Kyrenia]]. The evidence points to the ship being taken by rough seas some time after 294 BC, when it was rather old.<ref name="KS_Volume1"/>

The ship was in use by merchants for more than 3020 years.<ref name="archaeology2007"/> Archaeologists studied the ship's remains in detail and found much new information about ancient construction techniques, the re-use of materials in antiquity, and evidence of extensive repairs and modifications ofduring the Kyrenia Ship's working life. Planking was replaced and repaired in the bow. A break in the ship's keel had been mended, and the outside of the ship was protected with wooden and lead sheathing to keep the aging timbers water-tight and extend the ship's working life. <ref name="Steffy1985"/> Closer analysis of the rabbets in the hull's frame suggest that the mast step had been moved up to three, and possibly four times.<ref name="Steffy1985"/> This movement happens to be in close proximity with a space to collect bilge water.<ref name="Steffy1985" /><ref name = Lionel/> Because of this, archaeologists surmise that the movement of the mast step was to make way for a larger bilge bucketsump, capable of lifting water out and overboard<ref name = Steffy1993/> These extreme measures to deal with water infiltration corroborate the frailty of the ship and may have contributed to its sinking. The hull's excellent preservation, along with its extensive repairs, demonstrate its long sailing life and adds greatly to our knowledge of shipbuilding in antiquity.

The shipwreck of Kyrenia (Keryneia) was discovered in November 1965 by the Kyrenian Greek Cypriot diving instructor and Municipal Councillor Andreas Cariolou while collecting sponges at a sea depth of 33 metres, approximately a nautical mile Northeast of the [[harbour]] of Kyrenia on the North coast of the Republic of Cyprus, during a stormy day. With the storm at the surface, the anchor of his vessel started to drag on the muddy seabed. Cariolou noticed the cloud of the drag and followed the anchor's slow travel when he suddenly noticed the shipwreck. Happily bewildered he had to quickly recover and follow the drag of his anchor as his vessel was dangerously approaching the rocky coast. Understanding the importance of his findingfind and the dangerrisk of illegal excavations, he remained discreet about it informing only the director of the Department of Antiquities Dr. Vasos[[Vassos KaragiorgisKarageorghis]] and the President of the [[Republic of Cyprus]]. In late 1967, the Department of Antiquities of the Republic of Cyprus, invited a number of Underwater Archaeologists to study the possibilities of excavating at such a particularly difficult and costly sea depth. Amongst them was nautical archaeologist Michael Katzev of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology who washad workingbeen atsurveying thefor timeshipwrecks on a survey ofoff the coast of Cyprus for shipwrecks. In that year, Andreas Cariolou took the team headed by Michael Katzev to the site.

FirstMichael Katzev directed the archaeological expeditions from 1967 to 1969. In 1967, a general inspection was undertaken which included a team of scientists from Oxford University (Dr. Edward Hall, Dr. Jeremy Green), using a "proton" magnetometer metal detector and probes,. Green spent a month surveyingon the site to find metal parts and the approximate position of the entire ship and herits cargo over an area measuring approximately {{convert|20|by|5|m}}. During the summers of 1968 and 1969, Michaelthe Katzevshipwreck directedwas theexcavated expeditionand consistinga team of more than 50 underwater archaeologists, students and technicians employing stereo-photographystereophotography and other developed other techniques to record the position of each object before itthey waswere brought to the surface. Then the ship's [[wooden]] [[Hull (watercraft) | hull]] which was well preserved inon the silt and muddy seabed was "mapped"recorded, photographed, labelled, dismantled and carefully lifted in a number of pieces to the surface.

[[File:Kyrenia shipwreck 7.jpg|thumb|Objects exposedon display at the Kyrenia Castle Shipwreck Museum]]

The objects in Kyrenia Castle are the original ones that it carried during its last voyage about 2,300 years ago. From them, we can learnlearned about the life of the captain and three sailors who manned the ship. AboutThe ship carried 381 amphoras or transport jars, carriedcontaining a cargo of wine, olive oil, and almonds--most amphoras aboard the Kyrenia Ship came from [[Rhodes]] (x340), with some came from [[Knidos]] (x4), [[Samos]] (x1), [[Kos]] (x2), [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] (x1), as well as [[Egypt]] ([[Phoenicia|Phoenician]] style, x1), [[Cyprus]] (x1) and possible onepossibly Kourion amphora(x1).<ref name = KS_Volume1 />. Some of the [[amphora stamps]] also suggest that the ship sank between 294 and 291 BC, which is also supported by the seven bronze coins found on the shipwreck site. Five of these coins were minted in the name of [[AlexandreAlexander the Great]] and date between ca. 334 BC and 301 BC. One coin is of unknown mint, and the other is a well-known type of [[Ptolemy I]], produced only on Cyprus. and thisThis coin dates to post 294 BC. The ship's trade route included Rhodes, Cyprus, and the Levant, with Egypt as its possible final destination.<ref name = KS_Volume1 />.

In addition a cargo of wine, oil, and [[almonds]] (over 9,000 in number), the Kyrenia Ship carried millstones and iron billets. Twenty-nine [[millstones]], laden in three rows over the [[keel]] as cargo also served as [[ballast]]. At the stone [[quarry]], probably on the island of [[Kos]], masons carved letters of identification on thetheir sides of these stones.<ref name = KS_Volume1 />.

The sailors fished during the voyage and this is revealed by more than 300 lead net weights found in the bow. Meals were probably prepared ashore, using large casserole pots and a bronze cauldron. Aboard the ship were also four drinking cups ([[kantharoi]]), four oil containers ([[gutti]]), four wine measures ([[olpai]]), as well as bowls and saucers, and wooden spoons. This cabin pottery from the Kyrenia shipwreck suggests that the ship was sailed by a crew of four. The cabin pottery is also the strongest indicationindicates that the vessel's homeport was Rhodes, a conclusion alsofurther supported by the scientific analyses undertaken on these ceramics.<ref name = KS_Volume1 />. Archaeologists also found javelins on the shipwreck site ,<ref name="archaeology2007"/>, which were most likely used for the protection of the crew during the ship's last voyage.<ref name = KS_Volume1 />.

The Kyrenia Ship interestingly may have had an earlier life with a Levantine crew, however.<ref name = KS_Volume1 />. In the ship's bilges eight small pieces of pottery were found which include a fragment of a common type of Levantine jar, as well as seven fragments came from four to five drinking cups, known as Achaemenid cups, typical of the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Examples of these type of jars and drinking cups have been found along the modern-day Israeli coast.<ref name = KS_Volume1 />.

The ship carried a single square sail and more than 100 lead rigging rings from its so-called brail sail were found on the shipwreck site. The [[wooden]] hull, built mostly of pine ([[Pinus brutia]]), was preserved for a length of almost {{convert|14.7|by|4.4|m}} across. The ship was built using the "shell first" ancient method, the opposite of today's method. Contrary to the contemporary wood boat building method where a complete skeleton of frames of the entire vessel must first be constructed, in this case, the planking from the keel and up was joined together first, using a mortice-and-tenon construction, and then the frames were laid in, secured with an ingenious assembly of wood pegs pierced by copper nails passing through both frames and planks.<ref name="Steffy1985"/> The ship was intended for long service and underwent four major repairs in her life. In the last repair, a skin of lead sheathing of {{convert|1.5|to|2|mm}} thickness was applied to her body to hopefully keep the old ship comparatively safe from woodworm and probably help water tightness.

Preservation and conservation of the ship's woodartefacts beganand wooden hull was undertaken in 1970 and lasted1971, fourand yearsfrom 1971 to until1973 the original timbers were reassembled on permanent scaffolding, to be seen still today on exhibit today, along with its cargoes and goods of the sailorscrew in Kyrenia Castle.

At the time of its sinking, the Kyrenia Ship carried only one [[anchor]] .<ref name="VanDuivenvoorde2012"/><ref name="VanDuivenvoorde2017" />. The anchor remains found on the Kyrenia shipwreck show the remains come from single one-armed wooden hook anchor with a short lead-filled wooden stock. The original anchor had a central wooden shaft called the shank, made from a crooked grown oak timber, which terminated in a hook or arm<ref name="VanDuivenvoorde2017" />. This arm was set perpendicular to lead-filled stock—this configuration ensured that it would fall down and dig itself into the seabed. Only the heavy lead inserts of the stock, which provided the necessary weight to sink the anchor, the iron concretion of the anchor’sanchor's fluke tip, and small wood fragments were found on the Kyrenia shipwreck.<ref name="VanDuivenvoorde2012"/>.

This anchor type developed from the stone weight anchor and reliesrelied solely on its ability to grip the seabed. The earliest mention of a hook anchor is from a Greek poem dating to the mid-seventeenth century BC. The Greeks attributed the invention of the hook anchor to several semi-legendary figures, including King Midas of Phrygia, but the real inventor is unknown.<ref name="VanDuivenvoorde2012"/>.

In 1985, the President and founder of the Hellenic Institute for the Preservation of Nautical Tradition (HIPNT) Harry Tzalas in close cooperation with Dr. Michael Katzev and ancient ship re-constructor Richard Steffy with a number of Greek experts on traditional boat building and underwater archaeology, completed a full-size, sailing replicareconstruction of the ship, known as ''Kyrenia II''. The ship was constructed following an exact procedure as the one followed by the ancient boatbuilder of the ancient ship of Kyrenia. This was achieved at the Manolis Psaros boatyard in Piraeus Greece . Kyrenia II is often used as a floating ambassador of Cypriot culture, and has visited many parts of the world. In 1986, it visited [[New York City]]; in 1988, [[Japan]]; and in 1989, [[West Germany]].

In 2002, the construction of a third replicareconstruction of the shipKyrenia began.Ship Thewas shipbuilt wasand named ''Kyrenia Liberty''. It was builtconstructed with respect for the original design but with modern techniques. The ship was ready for the [[2004 Olympic Games]] and set sail for [[Athens]], [[Greece]] with a symbolic cargo of [[copper]] to be used in the [[Olympic medal|Olympic]] [[bronze medals]]. This cargo was symbolic since the name [[Cyprus]] is associated with the [[Latin language|Latin]] word for "copper".

<ref name = KS_Volume1>{{cite journalbook |last1=Katzev |first1=Susan Womer and |last2=Swiny |first2=Helena Wylde |date=2022 |title=The Kyrenia Ship Final Excavation Report: Volume I - History of the Excavation, Amphoras, Pottery and Coins as Evidence for Dating |url=https://www.oxbowbooks.com/9781785707520/the-kyrenia-ship-final-excavation-report/ |isbn=9781785707520 | publisher=Oxbow Books}}</ref>

<ref name="VanDuivenvoorde2012">{{cite journal |last1=Van Duivenvoorde |first1=Wendy |date=2012 |title= The Anchor of the 3rd‐Century‐BC Ship from Kyrenia, Cyprus: a one‐armed wooden anchor with a lead‐filled stock |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1095-9270.2012.00350.x |journal=International Journal of Nautical Archaeology |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=397–407 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-9270.2012.00350.x |bibcode=2012IJNAr..41..397V |s2cid=233246351 |access-date=2023-10-18}}</ref>

<ref name="VanDuivenvoorde2017">{{cite journal |last1=Van Duivenvoorde |first1=Wendy |date=2017 |title=Anchoring the Kyrenia Ship: An experimental project to reconstruct the ship’sship's anchor. |url=https://honorfrostfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/van-Duivenvoorde-min.pdf |journal=Poster presentedPresented at the The Honor Frost Foundation Conference ‘Mediterranean'Mediterranean Maritime Archaeology: Under the Mediterranean’InternationalMediterranean'International Journal of Nautical Archaeology |access-date=2023-10-18}}</ref>

* Briggs, Lisa, Stella Demesticha, Susan Katzev, Helena Wylde Swiny, Oliver E. Craig, Léa Drieu. 2021. There’sThere's more to a vessel than meets the eye: Organic residue analysis of ‘wine’ containers from shipwrecks and settlements of ancient Cyprus (4th–1st century bce). ''Archaeometry'', vol. 64, issue 3, pages 779-797. https://doi.org/10.1111/arcm.12747