Divers discovered ancient, spectacular and important shipwreck cargo in the port of Caesarea

An accidental discovery by two divers in the ancient harbor of Caesarea in the Caesarea National Park before Passover, led to the discovery of a large and spectacularly beautiful ancient sea cargo, of a merchant ship from about 1600 years ago (the late Roman period) that was wrecked at sea.

Immediately after leaving the water, the divers Ran Feinstein and Ofer Ra'anan from Ra'anana called the Antiquities Authority and reported that they had found and retrieved several ancient items from the sea. A joint dive at the site revealed that a large area of ​​the seabed was exposed to sand, and the remains of the ship remained exposed on the bottom: iron anchors, the remains of wooden anchors and accessories used to build and operate the vessel. An underwater rescue survey, conducted in recent weeks with the help of many divers from the Antiquities Authority and volunteers using advanced equipment, discovered many items that were in the ship's cargo.

Many of the finds are made of bronze and have been exceptionally well preserved: a bronze candle decorated with the image of the sun god Sol, a statuette (statuette) of the moon goddess Luna, a candle in the shape of an African slave's head, fragments of three statues cast in life size, objects shaped in the shape of animals such as a whale, a bronze faucet shaped A wild boar on a swan's head, and more. In addition, fragments of large jugs were found that were used to carry drinking water for use by the crew on the ship and for transport at sea. One of the biggest surprises was the discovery of two blocks of coins consisting of thousands of coins, weighing about 20 kilograms, which took the shape of the pottery in which they were transported.

This discovery comes a year after the uncovering of the treasure of Fatimid gold coins by divers and the Antiquities Authority, which is shown to the public today in the 'Time Travel' exhibits in the port of Caesarea.

According to Yaakov Sharvit, Director of the Maritime Archeology Unit at the Antiquities Authority, and Dror Flaner, Deputy Director of the Unit, "These are extremely exciting finds, which, beyond their extraordinary beauty, have historical importance. The location of the ancient findings and their distribution on the seabed indicates a large merchant ship that was carrying metals for recycling, and apparently got caught in a storm in the area of ​​the port's mouth and drifted until it crashed on the breakwater and rocks." From a preliminary study of the iron anchors, it seems that an attempt was made to stop the ship from drifting to the shore by dropping anchors, but these broke - evidence of the strength of the waves and the wind that the ship encountered." Sharvit and Flanner emphasize that "such a maritime archaeological complex has not been found in Israel for at least 30 years. Metal sculptures are rare in the archaeological find, because they have always been melted down and recycled. When bronze finds are found, it mostly happens at sea, because the statues were destroyed along with the ships, sank in the water and were "saved" from the recycling process. Sharvit and Flanner add, that "in the many naval excavations conducted in Caesarea, very few bronze statues were found, while in the current cargo a spectacular and large wealth of statues was found, which were probably in the city and were taken out of it by sea. The sand protected the sculptures and because of that their state of preservation is amazing - just as if they were created yesterday and not 1600 years ago." The discovered coins bear the image of the emperors Constantine, who ruled the Western Roman Empire (312-324 AD) and later became known as Constantine the Great, Emperor of the Roman Empire (337-324 AD) and of Licinius, emperor who ruled the eastern part of the Roman Empire and was Constantine's rival, until the fall of Lykinus in the battle between the two.

According to Sharvit, "In recent years we have witnessed many random discoveries in the port of Caesarea. These discoveries are the result of two significant factors: a lack of sand on the seabed causing the discovery of ancient artifacts, as well as the large number of divers at the site. The divers, who demonstrated good citizenship worthy of praise, will be awarded a certificate of appreciation and will be invited to tour the state's treasures. By reporting to the Antiquities Authority about the discovery of the marine assemblage, they allowed the entire public to enjoy this spectacular request for peace from the past: after research, the spectacular findings will be displayed in museums." Sharvit adds that "every find must be reported to the Maritime Archeology Unit at the Antiquities Authority immediately upon finding it in the field, in order to exhaust the archaeological knowledge from the site."

Thanks to the huge investment of the Rothschild Caesarea Foundation, amounting to tens of millions of NIS, in the preservation and development of the northern parts of ancient Caesarea throughout the ages, parallel to the discovery of the marine treasure, the Antiquities Authority, the Nature and Parks Authority and the Caesarea Development Company continue intensive work on large projects around the port. And while the new finds are still undergoing preservation treatments and research at the Antiquities Authority, the treasure of gold coins discovered in the waters of Caesarea in the winter of 2015 is already being presented to the audience of visitors to the port of Caesarea as part of the experiential performance "Journey in Time". The CEO of the Caesarea Development Company, Michael Charsanti, points out that the latest discoveries at sea emphasize the uniqueness of Caesarea as an ancient port city with a history and cultural heritage that surprises every time, as more parts of its past are discovered in the sea and on land, and the goal is to present these and other cultural treasures as much as possible which will be revealed later, to the many visitors who visit the place every year.