Ancient Near East

Reconstruction of the Yassiada shipwreck

Turkey Bodrum (partial) reconstruction of the Yassiada shipwreck from Byzantine times (7th c.), St. Peter's castle; Bodrum, Turkey...

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Ashkelon 1999

In June 1999, IFE mounted an expedition to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The expedition team included archaeologists from the Leon Levy Expedition at Ashkelon under the direction of Dr. Lawrence Stager of Harvard University. Dr. Ballard, Project Leader for the Expedition, was joined by oceanographers and engineers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Ins...

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Shipwreck of lost 'Sea People' Found

The discovery of a shipwreck belonging to the enigmatic "Sea Peoples" is a significant archaeological find that sheds light on one of the ancient world's enduring mysteries. The Sea Peoples were a confederation of seafaring groups who played a role in the political upheaval and conflicts in the Eastern Mediterranean during the late Bronze Age. Here...

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Turkey Bodrum (partial) reconstruction

Turkey Bodrum (partial) reconstruction of the Yassiada shipwreck from Byzantine times (7th c.), St. Peter's castle; Bodrum, Turkey...

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Phoenician Shipwrecks

A team of oceanographers and archaeologists led by Robert D. Ballard of the Institute for Exploration in Mystic, Connecticut, and Lawrence Stager of Harvard University has found two ancient Phoenician shipwrecks in the eastern Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel. Lying more than 1,000 feet (305 meters) below the surface, they are the oldest v...

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Real-size Replica; Uluburun Shipwreck

Turkey Bodrum real-size replica; Uluburun shipwreck, St. Peter's castle, Bodrum, Turkey...

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Seytan Deresi

The institute's second excavation of 1975 was conducted near ªeytan Deresi (Devil's Creek), on the north coast of Turkey's Kerme Bay. AINA (now INA) had surveyed the wreck in 1973 and raised two huge pottery vessels, along with a number of pot sherds. The site seemed untouched since then. The jars had been found at the base of a sloping field of r...

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Ancient Lattice Windows

The lattice window looked very much like a fisherman's net, and was used in warm middle eastern countries. It was formed of reticulated work, and highly ornamental. They also had hinges which allowed them to be open or shut. On very hot days then sun is kept out while the air is let in through the trellis openings....

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Assyrian Stone Altar

Assyrian Stone Altar sketch...

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Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were considered one of the wonders of the ancient world. The Greek historian Herodotus described Babylon in great detail. King Nebuchadnezzar built them in 580 BC apparently for his wife Amytis, daughter of the Median King Astyages, who was homesick for the mountains and vegetation of her native land....

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