Shipwreck of Cape Iria

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The shipwreck of Cape Iria from around 1200 BC BC was discovered in 1962 off Cape Iria ( Greek Άκρα Ίρια Akra Iria or Ακρωτήριο των Ιρίων Akrotirio ton Irion ) in the Argolic Gulf of the Aegean Sea . The cape is located on the coast of the Greek landscape of Argolis in the northeast of the Peloponnese .

The main body of the wreck is 12 to 25 meters deep, 15 meters from the shore, about 100 meters north of Cape Iria and covers an area of ​​120 m². After the accidental discovery, the site was systematically excavated from 1993 to 1994. The finds are currently still being examined in the Spetses Museum . Since only clay vessels and no metal parts were found, it can be assumed that there are other finds in the sea.

According to the vessels ( Late Cypriot IIc and Late Minoan IIIB2, around 1200 BC) the ship started on the south or west coast of Cyprus and reached the Argolis via Crete , on whose south coast there were important trading centers. It mainly carried olive oil and sank due to a sudden onset of bad weather.

The wreck, which was not transporting a particularly rare cargo, testifies to a lively trade between Cyprus, the (then Mycenaean ) Crete and the Argolis (an important center of the Mycenaean culture) in the late 13th century BC. Chr.

literature

  • Yannos Lolos: The ship find from Cape Iria . In: In Poseidon's realm. Archeology under water . von Zabern, Mainz 1995, ISBN 978-3-8053-1643-9 .
  • Basos Karagiorges et al: Από την ενάλια Κύπρο στον μυχό του πολυδίψιου Άργους: Το ναυάγιο του Ακρωτηρίου Ιρίων . Institouto Enalion Archeologikon Erefnon, Athens 1998, ISBN 978-960-86282-0-5 (Greek, digitized [PDF; 13.3 MB ; accessed on February 15, 2018]).
  • William W. Phelps, Yannos Lolos, Yannis Vichos (Eds.): The Point Iria Wreck: Interconnections in the Mediterranean, ca. 1200 BC: Proceedings of the International Conference, Island of Spetses, September 19, 1998 . Hellenic Institute of Marine Archeology, Athens 1999, ISBN 978-960-86282-1-2 (English).

Web links

Coordinates: 37 ° 27 '39.3 "  N , 23 ° 0' 9.4"  E