A 4,000-year-old trade route used by Europe’s first advanced civilisation has been discovered by underwater archaeologists off the coast of Turkey.
Hundreds of artefacts were found off the coast of Marmaris- Bozburun in the Turkish province of Mugla by scientists of the Turkey Shipwreck Inventory Project (TUBEP) on 24th October.
The artefacts suggest a Bronze Age trade route in the region that was believed to have been set up by the Minoan people, considered Europe’s first advanced civilisation.
The Bronze Age civilisation flourished on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands between 3000 BC and 1450 BC until a late period of decline, finally ending around 1100 BC.
According to the news source DHA, the discovery sheds further light on trade routes during the Bronze Age, and underwater archaeologists brought to the surface ceramic jugs, kitchen pots, counter weights, and other items from around the 18th century BC.
The discovery also reveals the relationships between the Minoan civilisation and other Anatolian races.
The largest and oldest evidence of Bronze Age trade routes have already been found in the region and the latest find offers more information on trade relationships of the time.
The new discovery is believed to have been a trade route between Mugla on the west coast of modern-day Turkey and the Greek island of Rhodes.
One researcher said: “The findings show that ceramic products made in Crete were probably sent north to Rhodes and the Bozburun Peninsula before moving on to Iasos, Miletus, Ephesus, and Troy and then onto the northern Aegean.”
The research is ongoing.
Turkish scientists found hundreds of historical artifacts of approximately 4 thousand years, with the traces of the Bronze Age harbor in Mugla Bozburun 
Turkish scientists found hundreds of historical artifacts of approximately 4 thousand years, with the traces of the Bronze Age harbor in Mugla Bozburun
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Story By: Feza Uzay, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
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