A British team from the Naval Exploration Center, in cooperation with archaeologists of the "Shipwrecks Project" program, succeeded in monitoring a "wealth of wonders" for the wrecks of 12 sunken ships in the eastern Mediterranean between Lebanon and Cyprus.

The history of the sinking of some of them dates back to 300 BC, revealing the globalization of trade in the past, which defined the water silk road, which starts from China, through Persia and the Red Sea, to the eastern Mediterranean, during which ships transported ceramics, spices, coffee, textiles and others through hundreds of stations to the ports of the ancient world.

The British mission used advanced robots equipped with modern technologies that can dive to depths and places inaccessible to humans in a muddy part off the coast of Cyprus.

In addition to advanced sensors, they were able to monitor the ancient “shipping lanes” relied upon by the Greek, Roman and Ottoman empires, and the sinking of several ships, the most important of which was a huge ship from the seventeenth century filled with treasures of Chinese porcelain products.

“For archaeologists, this discovery is equivalent to finding a new planet. It is one of the most amazing discoveries in the Mediterranean region.”

“The wrecks of sunken ships reveal a previously unknown sea route linking the coast of Jingdezhen in China to Europe, and it tells the history of goods and products that were transported from the east of the world to stores on the eastern Mediterranean in Lebanon or in Alexandria and from there to European cities.”

The newspaper "The Guardian" quoted him about the difficulty of such discoveries in the depths of the Mediterranean, which hides many secrets of shipwrecks under the mud.

Kingsley pointed to one of the largest ships ever found, measuring 43 meters in length and 1000 tons, large enough to be the size of two merchant ships of that era.

It is believed that it was built in an Ottoman port, as its shipment included copper pots for coffee.

“Coffee pots are a heritage of the Ottoman Empire and it is likely that the pieces were the personal belongings of the crew because each set has its own different shape and distinctive engraving style.

The ship is a time capsule that tells the story of the beginning of globalization, as it transported goods by trading between 14 civilizations.

It is believed that the ship sank in 1630 while sailing between Cairo and Istanbul, and its voyage reflects a pattern of maritime trade shipping routes at that time.

The ship's cargo included some glass and ceramics from Europe (Belgium, Spain and Italy), in addition to Arabic incense, which is believed to have originated in Yemen.

Stephen Valerie, Co-Director of the Marine Archeology Project, said: "All the artifacts found were carefully recorded using a combination of digital imaging, video and light beam techniques.

For the sciences of underwater exploration, this is a giant leap forward.

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