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Known as ‘the oldest wreck in the world’, the Uluburun wreck, which was discovered in 1982, dates to the 14th century bc. The Gelidonia wreck, which was discovered before 1958, dates to the 13th–12th century bc. Other copper ingots found from the sea of Kyme were found before 1906 dates back to 16th–15th century bc.

This new discovery, so long after these other wrecks, will be a great opportunity to start a new excavation with the advantage of many technological advancements. At this stage, only typological evaluations can be made, since the newly-discovered wreck is still in situ. Comparison with the Kyme Ingots, the Bucholz/Bass classification and the prevalence of the shape in Egyptian representations all point to the possibility that the wreck should be dated to the 16th–15th centuries bc. If so, this new wreck in Antalya of unique scientific value. Many modern methods such as 14C and lead isotope analysis, along with the excavation will certainly provide clearer, more accurate information.

Thanks Fred Nerks.

Comparison with the Kyme Ingots, the Bucholz/Bass classification and the prevalence of the shape in Egyptian representations all point to the possibility that the wreck should be dated to the 16th–15th centuries bc. If so, this new wreck in Antalya of unique scientific value. Many modern methods such as 14C and lead isotope analysis, along with the excavation will certainly provide clearer, more accurate information.

When wood from the Uluburun II was RC dated, the wood turned out to be too young, so the sample was claimed to not to have been from the wreck, merely cargo. Really? Then why did you test it? :^)

The latest ring from the lumber was claimed to match the established ring sequences, making the latest ring 1305 BC, which is a floor beneath which the dating of the ship can't go, and that assumes that there are no later dates to be found, and that the ship was built in the year 1305 BC, and sank on its maiden voyage. Ships weren't built from year-old trees, or from green lumber.

Peter James et al point out that from the words in the report, the RC sequences of the rings (whatever they were) were actually *not* matched to the established sequences (it's often called a wiggle match), but rather eyeballed to see if the sequence of the widths of the rings matched.

A gold scarab of Nefertiti (conventional date c. 1370 to c. 1330 BC) was found on Uluburun II, which was also saddled on right away, but it showed a lot of wear from handling, probably centuries' worth). That was the reason the ring match was looked for in the 14th century. And NOT found. And why trying to measure the widths of the rings was done and the RC results presumably thrown out. The team that did the testing are strong advocates of a sort of master chronology from tree rings have actually bailed on their earlier eyeballing finding.

Cape Gelidonya and Uluburun | by James P. Delgado | Archaeology Magazine

The two oldest wrecks ever excavated, these two Bronze Age ships and their cargoes, were discovered off the coast of Turkey. Excavated in 1960 (the site was resurveyed and small additional finds uncovered in 2010), Cape Gelidonya was the first ancient shipwreck to be dug in its entirety from the seabed by archaeologists. Dating to around 1200 B.C., the vessel was most likely the possession of an itinerant metalsmith of Cypriot or Syrian origin, and the wreckage has yielded more than a ton of ingots, scrap bronze tools, weapons, and other objects, as well as metal-working tools. The artifacts convinced original excavator George Bass -- known as the father of underwater archaeology -- that ancient Mediterranean maritime trade had not been dominated by Mycenaean Greeks. Finds of Greek artifacts at a number of land sites had fostered that view, but Bass believed instead that Near Eastern seafarers, or "proto-Phoenicians," were more likely to have controlled those ancient trades and seas. This hypothesis was borne out by the discovery and 1984–94 excavation of the Uluburun wreck, which dates to around 1330 B.C. Either Canaanite or Cypriot, the Uluburun ship carried a diverse cargo of raw and manufactured luxury items and commodities from at least 11 far-spread ancient cultures, ranging from the Baltic to Equatorial Africa, the Mediterranean world, and the Near East. The meticulous recovery also produced fragments from this oldest wreck’s hull. Ongoing analysis by excavator Cemal Pulak now proves Bass’ hypothesis and demonstrates a complex, sophisticated maritime trade network dominated by the proto-Phoenicians more than three millennia ago. Thanks to these two ships, we now know that the ancients were savvy seafarers who built what was for them a "global economy." The Cape Gelidonya excavation led to the founding of both the world-class Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology in Turkey and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, the world’s leading scientific organization dedicated to the excavation and study of significant shipwrecks.