I’ve often written about archaeological finds in Israel. They fascinate me on several levels. Most show that the Bible is an accurate history of that ancient land. That history proves the Jews’ ancient and continuous ties to the land, long before Mohammed was even a twinkle in his daddy’s eye. (There’s a thought.) They reveal ancient man's enormous breadth and sophistication, even before the modern era. And of course, it’s just cool that the earth still has secrets about human history. The latest find is an intact ship from the Late Bronze Age found on the Mediterranean sea floor off Israel’s coast.

According to the Times of Israel,

In a groundbreaking archaeological discovery, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Thursday that a natural gas company’s standard survey of the Eastern Mediterranean floor had uncovered the most ancient ship ever found in the deep seas.

The discovery of the remains of the ship from the 14th-13th century BCE proves that Late Bronze Age mariners could navigate the seas without a line of sight to the shore, contrary to what was previously believed, the IAA said.

The approximately 3,300-year-old ship with a cargo of hundreds of intact amphorae was found 90 kilometers off northern Israel’s coast, at a depth of 1.8 km.

What’s even more cool is that, because the ship sank in such deep water, the wreck has been in an anaerobic environment. That means, say the researchers, that the ship “has frozen since the moment of disaster” without being affected by treasure hunters, waves, or currents. It seems to have hundreds of intact amphoras, which were the shipping containers of the day. The footage in this video is just fascinating:

Frankly, I’m not overly surprised by the fact that the ancients could do deep-sea navigation. If the Polynesians could do it, why couldn’t the Middle Eastern Bronze Age civilizations? In that vein, here’s an interlude from one of the few modern Disney movies I like:

While this particular find doesn’t point to the Jewish ties to Israel, it’s still proof that we moderns aren’t the apex of human development but rest on the shoulders of generations of giants.

This is a short post because I actually don’t have more information to add. I just thought I’d share with you something that’s thrilling, rather than depressing.

Image: YouTube screen grab.