 Click Photo for Larger Version
|
Image ToolbarPlease read before you download
Images and/or text from holylandphotos.org are NOT TO BE USED ON OTHER WEB SITES, NOR COMMERCIALLY, without special permission. To request permission contact us at holylandphotos@gmail.com. |
View of some of the "blueschist" cargo found in the ship. Thirteen tons of stones and rocks were found during the excavation. the majority of the stones are blueschist, with some volcanic stones and limestone. Blueschist was used for roofing, flooring, and for decorative articles. The Greek island of Evvia (Euboea), northeast of Athens, was identified as the source of the blueschist. (From a sign in the Hecht Museum)
Evidently this "small" vessel was used in rather long-distance trade—unless this was a local vessel transporting the blueschist from a storage warehouse to a construction site.
In 1985 a shipwreck dating to the fifth century BC was discovered off the coast of Kibbutz Ma'agan Mikhael (Michael).The vessel is approximately 41 feet long and 13 feet wide. It had a load capacity of about 15 tons. The ship sailed under a square rig and its maststep (the wooden horizontal beam that holds the mast in place) was found intact! The ship was probably manned by a crew of 4-6 mariners.
