The Late-Antique Ma‘agan Mikhael B Shipwreck, Israel

The Ma‘agan Mikhael B shipwreck, dated to the seventh–eighth centuries CE is located about 70 m off the Mediterranean coast of Israel, at a maximum water depth of 3 m, buried under 1.5 m of sand. The excavation of the shipwreck is in progress, and the hull has not yet been completely excavated. The exposed hull remains, comprising the keel, endposts, aprons, framing timbers, hull planks, stringers, bulkheads, and maststep assembly, are in a good state of preservation. The most significant finds are the ceramic sherds and complete amphorae. Other finds include rigging elements, wooden artefacts, organic finds, animal bones, glassware, coins, bricks, and rocks. The dating of this shipwreck makes it an exceptional source of information regarding various aspects of ship construction, seamanship and seafaring, regional economic activity, and daily life in the Levant in late antiquity.