Oldest Wreck Dive in the world

[cayal]

Does anyone know what the oldest wreck to dive in the world is? I was browsing along potential wrecks in Victoria and saw we have some wrecks of ships sunken in 1905, but built in the 1800s and it got me thinking about other wrecks and how old they are?

So does anyone know the oldest wreck in terms of age (ie: year it was built) that is diveable and how deep is it?

 

[mala]

there is a 3300 year old wreck of southern turkey.

about 50m deep.

 

[tracydr]

I think that the Mars wreck, from 1564 has got to be close,at least for a mostly preserved wreck.

 

[Phil_C]

The oldest ship I have personally dived on is the wreck of the very first HMS Invincible which sank in the Solent (UK between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight) in 1758. This is a protected wreck in the UK and you can only dive it on archaeological surveys under licence.

The oldest wreck site I have dived on is the site of the Kyrenia shipwreck (north coast of Cyprus) which is a 4th century BC Greek trader.

Kyrenia ship - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The ship itself has been recovered and preserved but there are still a few bits and the survey frames and lifting gear etc. at the wreck site.

I'm hoping to dive at the Kaş archaeological park in Turkey next year and have been invited to spend a couple of weeks helping with their surveys - so fingers crossed - Phil

 

[Diver0001]

I've been diving on several that are between 100 and 250 years old. The older ones are all wooden VOC ships and there isn't much left to see. Still interesting though if you like history.

R..

 

[nimoh]

The great lakes have a lot of 100 year old well preserved (IMHO) shipwrecks both wood and steel.

 

[Phil_C]

Just checked my archaeological records and papers for Southern Turkey -

Uluburon Wreck -discovered in 1982 by a sponge diver -
Near to Kas Turkey - (6 km)
36°7′43″N 29°41′9″E / 36.12861°N 29.68583°E / 36.12861; 29.68583
Built around 1305 BC according to timber dating - Sank approx - 14th century BC
50 metres offshore, 44 to 52 metres deep - with artefacts spread down to 62 metres

NAS (the Nautical Archaeology Society) from the UK are running a training course in the area in November next year (I hope to get there) and this is one of the sites they will most likely dive on.

Regards Phil