Posted on 04/21/2020 12:55:10 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
· British expedition uncovers a wealth of wonders dating from the year 300 BC in the eastern Mediterranean
· 12 shipwrecks and their cargoes include a colossal 17th century ship that fits 'two normal ships' on its deck
· The ships reveal a trade route from China to Persia, Red Sea and east Mediterranean for food and porcelain
Archaeologists have found shipwrecks in the Mediterranean filled with hundreds of artefacts including Chinese porcelain, jugs, coffee pots, peppercorns and illicit tobacco pipes.
A British-led expedition found a cluster of 12 ships on the sea bed, 1.2 miles below the surface of the Levantine Sea, using sophisticated robots.
The ships were recovered in ancient 'shipping lanes' that served spice and silk trades of the Greek, Roman and Ottoman empires, from 300 BC onwards.
The ancient ships -- including the biggest ever found in the Med -- were unearthed in a muddy part of the eastern seabed between Cyprus and Lebanon, where remnants are often hard to find.
'It doesn't get better than this,' Sean Kingsley, archaeologist at the Enigma Shipwreck Project (ESP) told BBC Radio 4.
'For an archaeologist it's the equivalent of finding a new planet.
'There's sort of an embarrassment of wonders here -- we've got the earliest Chinese Ming dynasty porcelain found under the Mediterranean Sea.
'They're quite hard to find but when you do find them they're incredibly well preserved.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Darn Chinese globalists in 300 BC. Were they exporting deadly diseases back then, too?
The Chinese stuff came off the 17th century Turkish wreck, which received the lion's share of the attention of the article writer. But regardless, since it went to the bottom, in this particular case, their evil plan didn't work! :^)
ARSH
“Anno Reparatae Salutis Humanae”
will really make heads explode.
Thanks FewsOrange.
McGriddle... mmm...
That porcelain could fetch a handsome amount.
love to see the back of one of those. The Chinese by the 1600s were making a lot of those for import. They had different marks and some were knockoffs.
” They map the article shows says the ship sailed from Jengdezhan in China to the Levantine Sea (Easter Med.), where it foundered, via...the Suez (Canal)?”
It’s the Daily Mail so I would expect mistakes like that.
This article https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/apr/18/mediterranean-shipwrecks-reveal-birth-of-globalisation-in-trade mentions
“The ship, which is thought to have sunk around 1630, while sailing between Egypt and Istanbul”
“ Were they exporting deadly diseases back then, too?”
Yes, the plague came over the Silk Road.
It's remarkable how nicely those clean up after 390 years on the seaf floor.
Uh, I've got the Daily Mail article loaded, and it doesn't say Suez Canal.
Would love to have one of those bowls!
Calling it BC triggered you:)
Thanks for the link! I knew a fellow FReeper could unravel it!
No, it doesn’t and neither did I. The map purports to show the route of the ship and the dotted line of its passage runs through the Suez. No canal there for a ship to pass through back then. Take a look at their map!
Why would you want to "trigger" the good guys? Stay with BC and trigger the OTHER guys!
This is way back in my memory but I am sure the Egyptians had made canals between the Red Sea and the Nile.
The ancient Ptolemy’s thought about a Suez canal but thought the differences in sea level between the Mediterranean and Red Sea was greater than it actually was.
I think I just saw those on Antiques Roadshow.
300 bc. The early Greek period. Very cool.
Wonder if they’ll find any muslin stuff.
The caption under that map explains what the route was.
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