Sunk Costs at Late Bronze Age Uluburun

This study gauges the economic loss represented by the 14th-century B.C.E. shipwreck at Uluburun, Turkey. Textual evidence for commodity values are used to calculate a minimum cost for the main cargoes and ship. Values are converted to silver shekels of Ugarit's standard. The approximate sum of 12,000 shekels is contextualized by contemporaneous indicators found in Akkadian and Ugaritic business documents, treaties, decrees, Hittite laws, and Ramesside prices. It is hoped that this provisional estimate will inform and stimulate continued investigation into the sort of institution capable of outfitting such a rich venture, and provide a means to gauge the loss suffered by communities most likely affected.