Three Ancient Shipwrecks Shed Light on an Iron Age Israelite Port

The ancient port city of Dor was located on the Mediterranean coast, about twenty miles south of what is now Haifa. Recently archaeologists have excavated three ancient shipwrecks in nearby waters and examined their cargoes. Each dates to a different era: the first from before the Israelite monarchy was established, when the city was ruled by a Mediterranean people called the Sikel (or Sicel); the second from the heyday of the northern kingdom of Israel; and the third from after the Assyrian invasion and conquest of that kingdom around 722 BCE. Koray Erdogan writes: