One of Nicolle Hirschfeld's fondest memories is participating in the excavation of the Uluburun, the oldest shipwreck found in the Mediterranean, dating back to the 14^th century B.C.

Hirschfeld, an assistant professor in the department of classical studies at Trinity University, discussed the excavation of the Uluburun and her findings in her lecture, Garage Sale or Royal Shipment? The Ceramic Cargo of the Uluburun Shipwreck, Thursday evening.

The shipwreck was found near Kas in southern Turkey, and Hirschfeld participated in the excavation for six summers between 1984 and 1994 as a graduate student.

"One of the things found in shipwrecks that we don't find on land are raw materials," she said.

In 1983 a sponge diver found funny metal biscuits with ears at the ocean floor. That is how the excavation got started, Hirschfeld said.

The ship carried ten tons of copper ingots, which after being analyzed, were determined to be from Cyprus. Each ingot weighs approximately 60 pounds, she said.

One of the tricks of archaeology is to find the questions you can answer.
-Nicolle Hirschfeld, associate professor in the department of classical studies at Trinity University

She and her team also excavated glass ingots, tons of tin, and three Italian swords that were not part of the cargo of the ship.

Among the 130 Canaanite jars they found, there were traces of wine in the jars and one was full of glass beads. The team also found ivory elephant tusks, and a dozen hippopotamus incisors.

But whose ship was it? Where was it going? They don't know yet.

"One of the tricks of archaeology is to find the questions you can answer," Hirschfeld said.

A majority of the items found on-board suggest the ship and its crew were Canaanite or Cypriot; however, some items such as a pair of swords, spearheads and beads seem to indicate the presence of at least two Mycenaeans, Hirschfeld said.

The archaeology team also discovered a single gold Egyptian scarab in the shipwreck, which contained the inscription of Eqyptian Queen Nefertiti, although the ship sailed after her time.

They also found a basalt ax-head, which are typically found with very royal shipments. "Ax-heads are typically found in Bulgaria and normally buried in the tomb with someone important," Hirschfeld said.

About 150 vases served as cargo, along with many pithoi, used as containers for carrying various potteries.

The pottery found was made by careless potters and painters, and belongs on a rack at a discount store, she said. The ship carried 170 pieces of pottery as cargo, characterized by its variety and mediocre quality.

The organization of the cargo indicates that each pithos represents a separate shipment, and the packing patterns show the separate lots of cargo.

The artifacts from the Uluburun are currently still being conserved, studied and analyzed.

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