Archaeologists have discovered three shipwrecks dating back more than 3,000 years off Israel’s Carmel Coast, marking the first Iron Age vessels ever found in the country’s waters. The remains, along with their cargo, were recovered from the ancient harbor of Dor (Greek: Δῶρα) and described in the journal Antiquity.
The discovery offers a rare glimpse into maritime trade during the Iron Age, between 1200 and 586 BCE—a time when, according to the Hebrew Bible, the kingdoms of Israel and Judah flourished. Researchers say the find challenges long-standing views that trade activity was limited during the biblical era.
A port city linked to the biblical kingdoms
The Iron Age saw the rise of regional powers across the eastern Mediterranean. Dor, once a bustling port city, was likely under the rule of the Kingdom of Israel during the 9th and 8th centuries BCE and served as a key point for coastal trade and cultural exchange.
Though the ships themselves have largely decayed, their cargo—dating to the 11th, 9th, and 7th or 6th centuries BCE—survived in remarkable condition. Amphoras, storage jars, and other pottery were found beneath layers of sand, shedding light on ancient trade networks that once linked Israel with neighboring civilizations.
Rare Iron Age finds in the Mediterranean
Shipwrecks from the Iron Age are exceedingly rare, with only 11 known across the Mediterranean. “Tel Dor is one of the few Iron Age ports that have been discovered in the eastern Mediterranean,” said Prof. Thomas Levy of the University of California, San Diego. “A little bit to its south, the Dor Lagoon, or Tantura Lagoon, is very rich in ships.”
Levy, who co-led the project with Prof. Assaf Yasur-Landau of the University of Haifa, said the scarcity of such finds has more to do with logistics than history. “Underwater archeology is a very expensive endeavor,” he said. “Scholars who are interested in maritime archaeology usually deal with later times, like the Hellenist and Roman periods.”
Excavations reveal layered shipwrecks
The shipwrecks were unearthed during underwater excavations in 2023 and 2024 at Tantura Lagoon—named after a Palestinian village that stood on its shore until 1948. The area’s shallow waters, scattered rocks, and islets make it a natural “trap for ships.”
At least 26 ship remains from different eras have been documented there, though only a few have been excavated. The three Iron Age wrecks were found stacked atop one another, a formation Levy compared to the stratigraphy of ancient mounds.
Cargo tells stories of trade and craftsmanship
The most recent ship carried basket-handled jars, iron blooms—metal mixed with slag from smelting—balancing stones, and a wood-and-lead anchor. The second held Phoenician-style jars and bowls, while the oldest, dating to the early Iron Age, contained storage jars, an anchor, and stones used for ballast. Two jars appear to bear markings in the ancient Cypro-Minoan script.
Radiocarbon testing and pottery analysis confirmed the dates. The oxygen-poor sands preserved organic materials such as seeds and resin found inside the amphoras.
“Each period has a very typical assemblage of pottery, and then we also did radiocarbon dating,” Levy said. “Combining them together, we have a pretty rigorous understanding of the dating.”
Trade recovery after the Bronze Age collapse
The discoveries come from a critical period following the collapse of Bronze Age civilizations around 1200 BCE, when new powers—including the early Israelites—emerged. “After the collapse of those Eastern Mediterranean civilizations, the Iron Age polities had different economic responses to what had happened,” Levy said.
On today's "Israel Update," a 3,300 year-old ship is discovered off the Israeli coast — the oldest ever found in deep waters. Plus, correspondent Jodie Cohen explains preparations for the Sukkot holiday. pic.twitter.com/pwEEbWXO4L
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) October 6, 2025
By the 7th and 6th centuries BCE, Dor was under Assyrian and later Babylonian rule, functioning once again as a major trade hub. These weren’t small local kingdoms anymore, Levy explained. They were powerful empires extending control over the region’s maritime routes.
More discoveries expected beneath the sea
Levy said research on the finds has just begun. Another excavation season is planned for May. “This cache of cargoes is providing enough data for nine new scientific papers,” he said. “This is just the beginning of an unbelievable Iron Age project.”
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