A prehistoric shipwreckcontinues to this day to reveal historical information.

The cargo he carried on his journey from the region of Syro-Palestine to the Mycenaean ports of the Aegean “answers” – among other things – important questions about ancient technology and especially about shipbuilding.

It is the Ulumburun shipwreck, the richest prehistoric shipwreck in the Eastern Mediterranean, which was the focus of a lecture held today at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, with the aim of demonstrating the usefulness of underwater archeology and archaeometry.

“It is a very interesting example of the application of archaeometric methods, which began when the excavation ended in ’94 and continues to this day since other methods and other scientists are constantly being added, and this is how both the research in archaeometry and the conclusions about archeology progress“, the keynote speaker of the event, the emeritus Director of Research of the Institute of Historical Research of the National Research Foundation (IIE/EIE) Dr. Anna Michailidou, told the Athenian/Macedonian News Agency.

As he pointed out, the specific wreck provided a lot of and varied material, especially in raw materials, with the result that from its analysis older conclusions are supplemented and new ones emerge.

“The Ulumburun wreck yielded more than 350 copper plates – what we call talents, yielded tin, which is very rare to find because it is one of the most expensive metals, as well as resin and glass, which is the oldest synthetic material».

Researchers based on this evidence are looking for how this raw material came about, the trade routes it took to reach its destination and who it was, how it was coded so that it could be moved and its weight and quantity calculated and much more information.

The lecture entitled “Archaeometry & marine antiquities – Uluburun, the research on the richest prehistoric shipwreck in the Eastern Mediterranean”, took place within the framework of the “Archaeometrics of Culture” action of the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, which includes lectures and open workshops on the study of antiquities from the point of view of natural sciences (chemistry, physics, biology, etc.).

“What we want to be understood in a comprehensible way is how it is possible for a science – such as chemistry for example – to help in the study of an ancient object. Let’s find out what it is made of and the manufacturing technology and deliver a volume of data on the one hand to the antiquities conservator and on the other hand to the archaeologist, who will evaluate it and study it”, stated Dr. Christos Katsifas, Chemist at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki . “Essentially, we are trying to promote in our laboratories what is called interdisciplinarity, that is to say that scientists who have dealt with the subject sit equally around a table and try to understand an ancient technology from another era, with very little information“, added Mr. Katsifas.

Marine research in Greece began in 1970 with the training of archaeologists in diving, in 1973 the Institute of Marine Archaeological Research was founded by volunteer scientists, while in 1976 the Ephorate of Marine Antiquities was established in the Ministry of Culture, with the aim of protecting ancient shipwrecks in principle. The Archaeological Laboratory of AMTH has been operating since the beginning of the 80s, while it is the only one in Northern Greece that operates inside a museum.