Ancient shipwrecks

 Weisman illustrates the counter attack of nature if humans where to disappear. He also describes areas of the planet where humans once existed, but nature prevailed, as if we really did disappear. Shipwrecks can be eerie, remind us of the power of nature, and also gives us a glimpse in the past.

One of the most rare shipwrecks ever discovered is the Kyrenia Ship, an ancient Greek ship that was discovered off the coast of Northern Cyrpus. Wiesman describes the watery scene in detail. It is amazing what can be preserved in the absence of oxygen; the Kyrenia ship is the only example of a perfectly in tact merchant ship.

The ship’s hull was discovered by Andreas Cariolou perfectly intact, although the wood needed to be injected with polymers or else it would disintegrate when exposed to air. The hull was constructed of the Aleppo pine, a pine that is native to the Mediterranean and held together by copper nails, resistant to rust. 

The Kyrenia ship was known to carry wine, olives, and almonds. Interestingly, scientists were able to carbon date the almond seeds and date the ship to over 2,300 years old. I wonder if there will ever be a time in the future when someone will carbon date the seeds agriculturalists use today.  Will future humans even need seeds? It is interesting to imagine current humans as an ancient population and what future generations would think of us.

How did this ship go down you might wonder? It is difficult to determine the fate of this ship because it was found underwater in pristine condition. There were no signs of battle wounds. Scientists speculate that piracy or simply old age might have contributed to the sinking of this fascinating ship. The Kyrenia ship is considered an archeological treasure, still giving us much information about the past. To learn more about this ship check out the BBC documentary.