An ancient ship dating back approximately 2,000 years was reportedly carrying tons of rare metal in the Middle East, according to a recent study.
The study, published on Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, saw the researchers analyzing tin ingots the ship carried during the Late Bronze Age which was found off the Turkish coast at Uluburun - which is present-day Turkey.
The ship itself was only discovered 40 years ago. However, researchers in the study have found out that communities of pastoralists in Uzbekistan today produced a third of the tin found aboard the ship. The other two-thirds are from the Taurus Mountains of Turkey.
The tin had planned to travel to markets in the Middle East that were supposedly going to be made into a coveted bronze metal.
What did the researchers find out?
According to the study, the analysis concluded that the tin exchange among countries in the Middle East, Asia and Europe was supported by a system that was culturally diverse and multiregional.
The researchers also found out that some of the tin originated 2,000 miles from Haifa in a prehistoric mine in Uzbekistan.
“It’s quite amazing to learn that a culturally diverse, multiregional and multivector system of trade underpinned Eurasian tin exchange during the Late Bronze Age," said Michael Frachetti, professor of archaeology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.
“It’s quite amazing to learn that a culturally diverse, multiregional and multivector system of trade underpinned Eurasian tin exchange during the Late Bronze Age."
Michael Frachetti