Ramesside Egypt:Uluburun Wreck

The Objects

Pair of copper oxhide ingots

Unique two handled copper ingot

Copper bun ingot

Nefertiti’s gold scarab

The Pottery

Large sandstone anchor

The Anchors

Small limestone anchor

Raising the anchors

• Suggestion that the last port of call was perhaps Ugarit and before that, a port on Cyprus.• E. Cline: the cargo of the ship is an important

manifestation of trade between the LH/LM IIIA2 Aegean and the greater Levant.• Bachhuber: “elements of the Uluburun cargo appear

to be manifestations of elite exchange, the ship seems to be sailing towards the Aegean. “

The Origins of the Ship

The Objects

Mycenaean sword (left)

Canaanite dagger (mid)

Canaanite sword (right)

Agate and faience beads

Mycenaean steatite lentoid seal (above) and Egyptian steatite plaque.

Cobalt glass ingots

The Origins of the Crew

• Bachhuber: the nature of the Uluburun cargo can lay a foundation from which we can begin to speculate about the origins of its personnel.

• How do you determine the relationship between material culture & ethnicity? • Language

• Religion

• Identification with a specific territory

• A shared myth of origin

The Objects

A wooden leaf from a writing tablet

Bronze female figurine with head, lower arms, and feet clad in gold

Ceremonial scepter-mace

Large gold chalice

Conclusion

• Bass: the wreck appears to be an indication of a sea-route for the east to west transport of copper in the eastern Mediterranean throughout the Late Bronze Age• Bachhuber: there is enough evidence to suggest

the ship was on route to the Aegean, from the Near East• INA: The presence of at least two Mycenaeans on

board is indicated while the ship & its crew are thought to be of Canaanite or Cypriot origin

1. Where was the ship built?

2. What was the home port of the ship?

3. Where was the ship going?

4. Who was on board the ship?(What were their occupations and what countries were they from?)

5. Where did the trade items on the ship come from?

6. What type of trade was taking place? (Was this a royal cargo or individual merchants trading?)

7. What can this ship and the commodities on it tell us about Mediterranean trade?

8. Was this an established trade route?

9. When did the ship sink?

10. What do the items on this ship tell us about the cultures around the Mediterranean?

References• BACHHUBER ,C. (2006) Aegean interest on the Uluburun ship.

American Journal of Archaeology, Vol.110 No.3 pp.345-363.

• BASS, G. (1986) A Bronze Age shipwreck at Ulu Burun (Kas): 1984 campaign. American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 90 No.3, pp.269-296.

• HALDANE, C. (1993) Direct evidence for organic cargoes in the Late Bronze Age. World Archaeology, Vol. 24, No. 3, pp.348-360.

• INSTITUTE OF NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, (2006) Bronze Age Shipwreck Excavation at Uluburun [Online] Available: http://ina.tamu.edu/ Accessed: 28 October 2006.