(ORDO NEWS) — Archaeologists in Israel have been able to pinpoint the exact location from where, 3.2 millennia ago, an incredibly valuable cargo was sent, which consisted of ingots made of lead.
It is worth noting that they were all made in the Late Bronze Age. Scientists have made great efforts to obtain additional information regarding the complexity of the structure of the ancient society that lived in the Mediterranean basin many years ago.
A few years ago, underwater archaeologists discovered an interesting cargo that was on board a 3200-year-old ship that sank. Among the many artifacts, four lead ingots attracted the most attention, and they were studied in more detail during the new study.
As a result of the analysis, it was found that the local people were engaged in trade with the population of Sardinia and Cyprus. At the same time, the ship sank near the coast of Israel, in the immediate vicinity of the port of Caesarea.
Naam Yahalom-Mak of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem notes that a comparative chemical analysis was carried out to determine the exact location of the found ingots. Lead was compared with other ancient artifacts that were found in the Mediterranean.
The results of the study showed that the lead ingots were made on the island of Sardinia, which is located in the very center of the Mediterranean Sea.
On the surface of the artifacts, experts found Cypro-Minoan markings. To date, it has not yet been deciphered, but experts know that such markings were commonly used in the Late Bronze Age in Cyprus.
The study helped to understand that close trade relations were observed between Sardinia, Cyprus and Caesarea more than three thousand years ago. Lead in those days was considered an incredibly valuable material and therefore was used exclusively for the production of luxury goods.
Presumably, they tried to deliver the sunken ingots to some high-ranking person, because such gifts were mainly presented only to representatives of diplomacy.
The proof of this version is that the gift has overcome a huge distance. First, lead was mined in Sardinia, then it was sent to Cyprus, and after that the finished products were to be delivered to Caesarea.
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