New Study Provides More Accurate Age Estimate for Ancient Kyrenia Shipwreck, Revealing Insights into Mediterranean Trade during Greek and Late Antique Times
Ancient Kyrenia shipwreck's age estimated to be closer to 280 BCE than previously believed.
Kyrenia ship significant for understanding Mediterranean trade during Greek and Late Antique times.
New radiocarbon dating and cleaning method used for more accurate results.
A team of researchers has determined the sinking date of the ancient Kyrenia shipwreck, which was discovered off the coast of Cyprus in 1965. The new study, published in PLOS One, provides a more accurate age estimate using updated radiocarbon dating and a new method to clean preservative polyethylene glycol (PEG) from wood samples. The Kyrenia ship is significant for understanding maritime trade and connections in the Mediterranean during Greek and Late Antique times.
The researchers previously believed that the ship hailed from around 300 BCE, but this new study suggests it sank closer to 280 BCE. This discovery will yield a more detailed insight into the ship's story and provide valuable information about maritime trade during this period.
Radiocarbon dating relies on the degradation of carbon atoms in a substance, but changes in atmospheric carbon over time can make it less accurate. To manage this, researchers calibrate radiocarbon dating with tree ring samples. The team developed an updated tree ring dataset for the Northern Hemisphere to provide a more accurate age estimate on Kyrenia.
The researchers also developed a new method to clean off the preservative PEG, which interferes with modern dating methods. This will be useful for finding more accurate age estimates on other materials that date between 400-250 BCE.
The Kyrenia ship is one of the first discoveries to show that classical-era ships and their cargo could be found largely intact on the seabed, providing a unique insight into this long-past world. The new tree ring dataset will help researchers better understand maritime trade and connections during Greek and Late Antique times.
A new study published in PLOS One determined the Kyrenia’s sinking occurred between 296 BC and 271 BC with a strong probability between 286 BC and 272 BC.
Polyethylene glycol (PEG) used to conserve the ship’s wood interfered with radiocarbon dating, but a cleaning protocol was developed to remove it.
Almonds found in the cargo helped researchers estimate a range of years for when the Kyrenia ship’s last voyage took place.
The Kyrenia shipwreck, discovered near Cyprus, is a Hellenistic-era vessel whose timeline of sinking was determined to be between 296 to 271 BCE with a strong probability between 286 to 272 BCE.
Researchers from Cornell University and the University of Groningen developed a new method to clean the PEG out of the wood, successfully removing 99.9% of it.
The team also re-calibrated the international radiocarbon calibration curve for the period 433 to 250 BCE, which will help clarify other projects using this curve.
Accuracy
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There are no formal fallacies present in the article. The author presents information about a historical find without making any invalid arguments or logical errors. However, there are some issues with the dating of the Kyrenia shipwreck that required new methods to overcome an obstacle created by previous dating techniques.
The original efforts to date the ship were based on recovered artifacts that were not nuts, including pottery and a small batch of coins. Initially, researchers estimated that the vessel was built and sank in the later 300s BCE.
