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Kyrenia Shipwreck Excavation

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Introduction

The wreck of the late fourth-century BC ship off the coast of Kyrenia, Cyprus, was found by Andreas Cariolou in 1965. The survey and excavation of the site was directed by Michael Katzev between 1967 and 1969. Katzev oversaw the research of the collection well until his death in 2001; his wife, Susan Katzev, has been leading those efforts since. The excavation of this site revealed a very well-preserved assemblage containing amphorae from Chios, Samos, and Rhodes, a collection of personal items suggesting the presence of a captain and a crew of three on board at the time of loss and the remains of approximately 60–70% of the original hull. As a unique, handmade object approximately 14 m long built over two millennia ago, this wooden hull is exceptional, and it and its replicas have become emblematic of seafaring in the Mediterranean Sea during the Hellenistic era.

The collection has been on display and in storage in the Crusader-era castle in Kyrenia, Cyprus, since 1970....

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References

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Correspondence to Matthew Harpster .

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Harpster, M. (2019). Kyrenia Shipwreck Excavation. In: Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1_3151-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1_3151-2

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-51726-1

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Kyrenia Shipwreck Excavation
    Published:
    21 November 2018

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1_3151-2

  2. Original

    Kyrenia Shipwreck Excavation
    Published:
    26 October 2018

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1_3151-1