A 3,600-year-old dagger was discovered under the waters of Türkiye.
Underwater archaeologists from Akdeniz University have discovered a 3,600-year-old bronze dagger with silver rivets off the coast of Kumluj Municipality in Turkey.
Since 2019, an excavation project led by Dr. Hakan Oniz from Akdeniz University Faculty of Fine Arts has been exploring the seabed off the coast of Kumluj in the southern province of Aalya, Turkey.
The project has found a shipwreck at a depth of 50 meters carrying a cargo of pillow-like copper ingots, possibly originating from the Troodos Mouains of Cyprus.
Recely, researchers have discovered a bronze dagger with silver rivets at the site of the shipwreck, which is associated with the Minoan-Cretan civilization.Cretan-Minoan”a Bronze Age culture that developed on the island of CreteCrete” It is focused and releva.
The Minoan civilization emerged from the local Neolithic culture around 3100 BC, and the developme of complex urban settlemes began around 2000 BC. Around 1450 BC, the Minoans were culturally and politically influenced by the Mycenaean Greeks, leading to the creation of a hybrid culture that lasted uil around 1100 BC.
The Minoans became known as a major naval power in the eastern Mediterranean and established extensive trade networks with Egypt, the Leva, Anatolia, Cyprus, and mainland Greece.
According to the Minister of Culture and Tourism, a bronze dagger with silver rivets belonging to the Minoan-Cretan civilization was discovered in underwater excavations off the coast of Aalya’s Kumlujah district. This shipwreck is one of the most importa discoveries not only in Türkiye, but also in the underwater archeology of the world.
Archaeologists believe that the dagger’s association with the Minoan-Cretan civilization offers new insights io historical trade routes and cultural exchanges in the Mediterranean.
