Why study shipwrecks?
Humans, ships, and the ocean are bound together in a complex relationship. In the ancient world, ocean transportation was the safest, fastest, and most economical method to move goods, people, and ideas from one place to another. As civilization spread from the lush river valleys of the Nile and the Tigris and Euphrates during the Bronze Age (roughly 3000-1000 BC), sea-borne trade made possible the occupation of less fertile lands including the Aegean islands. Through the Iron Age, Classical Greek period, Roman era, and medieval times, seagoing technology was critical to colonization of new lands, expansion of trade, establishment of empire, and development of markets. However, the ocean exacts a toll on this trade and communication; some percentage of voyages ended in shipwreck. Shipwrecks are a random sample of voyages, a record of that ancient trade and communication. Unlike elaborately contrived sites such as graves and temples, shipwrecks are accidental and therefore show the past
