Hi All,


Now I don`t normally push holiday pics on people

, but thought this small collection may be of interest to all the ship builders out there and maybe some others along the way.
Whilst on holiday in Cyprus, my good lady and myself visited a castle in Kyrenia.
Now, housed in the castle are the remains of a shipwreck from approx 300BC.
Firstly, I`d like to share a picture taken from the castle ramparts over the smaller harbour in Kyrenia.

The wreck was mostly buried in sand mud and was found in 1967.
The remains were brought back to the light in 1968-1969 by an expedition directed by Michael Katzev from the University of Pensylvania.
The objects on show in the museum are originals, from 2300 years ago.
The next picture shows an artist`s impression of what the vessel would have originally looked like.

This type of vessel was used for trading purposes in the Helenistic Period.
This particular vessel was taken by rough seas when it was approx 80 years old and sank in open waters about one mile from safe anchorage at Girne.It is thought, that the single sail had been taken down prior to the ship sinking,because 100 lead rigging rings were found in stern area.
The next picture shows just how close the ship was from safe anchorage.

The next two pictures show the ships lines in plan form.


This vessel was made mainly from Aleppo pine wood.
The recovered section measures approx 12 metres long and the full ship would have measured a little over 14 metres.
This type of ship was built shell(planking) first then the ribs were added afterwards and fixed using copper spikes.
The next picture shows a model built this way in a scale of 1:5

Items found at the wreck site include:
400 wine Amphorae made in Rhodes and 10 more from Samos.
9000 Almonds preserved in jars.
29 millstones with the masons marks still visible. These were being transported as cargo, but served a second use as ballast.
The next picture shows a reconstructed cross-section of what the hull would have looked like, with Amphorae and millstones stowed.

The following picture shows an original Amphorae and it can be seen quite clearly how the sand mud protected it.

The next two shots, show how the wreck was orientated on the sea bed.
The remains of the ship are clearly shown, as are the Amphorae and milling stones.


Before I post the final four pics of the preserved section of the wreck, I would like to give you some of the suggestions and facts about the wreck.
Jugs and four cups were found at the site, suggesting a crew of four persons.
The crew fished for their food whilst in transit as some 300 lead fishing net weights were found in the bow area.
Due to the cargo found, it is assumed they were sailing southwards along the coast of Anatolia, calling in at Samos, Kos and Rhodes before it`s final demise off the coast of Cyprus.
Some of the Analysed items include:
Almonds: dated to 288BC +/- 60 years
Planking: dated to 389BC +/- 40 years.
So to the last four pics of the preserved section of the wreck.
(Apologies for the flash reflection, but the room was very dark and the remains are protected by a perspex screen.




Scientists from the University of Pensylvania, visit the museum yearly to make sure the remains are not deteriorating or require any more protection.
Hope you have enjoyed this little section of my holiday as much as I did.
Regards
delboy271155
(Derek)
COME BACK GUY FAWKES "YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU"