Ma'agan Michael Ship

The Ma'agan Michael Ship is a well-preserved 5th-century BCE boat discovered off the coast of Kibbutz Ma'agan Michael, Israel, in 1985. The ship was excavated and its timber immersed in preservation tanks at the University of Haifa, undergoing a seven-year process of impregnation by heated polyethylene glycol (PEG). In March 1999, the boat was reassembled and transferred to a dedicated wing built at the Hecht Museum, on the grounds of the university. The boat has provided researchers with insights into ancient methods of shipbuilding and the evolution of anchors.

In the autumn of 1985, Ami Eshel, a member of Ma'agan Michael, discovered the wreck while diving off the coast of the kibbutz, 35 km south of Haifa. 75 metres off the coast Eshel spotted rocks uncharacteristic of the Levantine coast next to pieces of wood and pottery sherds, and alerted the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Centre for Maritime Studies at the University of Haifa. Preliminary exploration of the wreck revealed pottery dating the ship to the 5th century BC as well as a great deal of submerged wood in an excellent state of preservation, encouraging further exploration. In 1987 a University of Haifa team led by Elisha Linder received a permit to excavate the site. They enlisted the help of Jay Rosloff, a hull specialist from Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University.

As the boat lay in shallow waters, 2 meters (6 ft 7 in) deep, excavators had to deal with difficult working conditions caused by the surge. Sand continuously drifted into the excavation trench and water clarity was poor. A horseshoe trench dredged around the site did little to ameliorate these problems, and conditions were seldom safe enough for both the crew and the unearthed wood. In the three seasons of work, totalling 160 days, only 32 days were actually spent excavating the ship and its contents. The small size of the site meant that no more than three pairs of divers could work on the ship at any one time.

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