Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of three Iron Age shipwrecks and their cargoes in the ancient harbor of Dor on Israel’s Carmel Coast, marking the first such finds in Israeli waters.

Dating from the 11th, 9th, and 7th/6th centuries BCE, the shipwrecks provide rare insights into trade during the First Temple Period, challenging assumptions that little commerce occurred under the biblical kingdoms.

The discoveries, made during 2023–2024 underwater excavations led by Prof. Thomas Levy and Prof. Assaf Yasur-Landau, included pottery, storage jars, Phoenician-style vessels, iron blooms, balancing stones, and a wood-and-lead anchor.

The shipwrecks were found stacked atop one another in shallow waters of the Tantura Lagoon, which historically trapped ships and preserved some organic materials like seeds and resin, the Times of Israel has reported.

Radiocarbon dating combined with pottery typology allowed precise dating, and some jars appear to bear inscriptions, possibly in Cypro-Minoan, which are still under study.