The Uluburun, the oldest shipwreck found in the Mediterranean, dates back to the late 14^th century B.C. and contained very rich cargo.

Nicolle Hirschfeld, an assistant professor in the department of classical studies at Trinity University, will discuss the ceramic cargo found in this shipwreck in her lecture, Garage Sale or Royal Shipment? The Ceramic Cargo of the Uluburun Shipwreck, Thursday, Nov. 20, at 7:30 p.m. in Frank H. McClung Museum Auditorium.

The lecture is organized by the Archaeological Institute of America, East Tennessee Society, the local chapter of the Archaeological Institute of America. The organization promotes the knowledge and research of archaeology.

"Dr. Hirschfeld will introduce us to the shipwreck and focus on its ceramic cargo, which mostly came from Cyprus," Aleydis Van de Moortel, assistant professor in the UT department of classics and secretary-treasurer of the East Tennessee Society, said.

The Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University excavated the Uluburun shipwreck off the coast of Turkey between 1984 and 1994.

The shipwreck dates back to about the time of King Tut. It carried 10 tons of copper and a lot of tin, enough to make bronze weapons for a small army, Van de Moortel said.

"The Uluburun also carried a lot of other precious and more common goods, mostly of Eastern and Egyptian origin, but also some of Aegean manufacture," she said.

"Through [Hirschfeld's] study of this cargo, she is trying to reconstruct trade patterns in the East Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age," Van de Moortel said. "More specifically, I think, she will test the idea whether this was a royal shipment or not."

Hirschfeld received her bachelor's degree from Bryn Mawr College and her doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin, with a master's in nautical archaeology from Texas A&M.

She has participated in numerous excavations throughout the eastern Mediterranean and Europe. Hirschfeld is also the president of the Archaeological Institute of America San Antonio Society.