Tin from Uzbekistan was found on a 3,500-year-old ship that sank off the coast of Turkey 00:43

Archaeologists found the origin of the tin in the sunken Uluburun ship. About informs Press office of the University of Washington in St.

The Uluburun ship is a Phoenician merchant ship that sank off the Anatolian coast southeast of the modern city of Kaş in the 14th century BC. It was discovered in 1982 and was a true landmark for experts in the history of trade and shipping. The ship reaches a length of 15 meters and has a payload of 20 tons.

Michael Frachetti of the University of Washington in St. Louis and his colleagues set out to find out where the tin the ship was carrying was made. To do this, they decided to analyze its isotopic composition – each metal deposit has a unique combination of different isotopes so you can find out where the ore was mined. “Over the past few decades, scientists have gathered information about the isotopic composition of tin ore deposits around the world and the natural mechanisms by which isotopic composition is transmitted. [оловянной руде] cassiterite during its formation, ”explain the scientists.

It turned out that two-thirds of the tin was mined from the Kestel mine located on the territory of modern Turkey, and one-third from the Mushiston mine in Uzbekistan. This allows us to talk about the existence of a developed trade network stretching for thousands of kilometers in the XIV century BC.

“For prehistoric states, the search for tin was a big problem. The authors of the study have long been interested in how the great empires of the Bronze Age met their massive demands for bronze, given that tin was relatively rare,” the authors of the study explain. Now scientists have an answer – raw materials can be brought from afar.

Tin was an important component in bronze, a high-tech metal much stronger than copper in the 1500s. From it were made household items, weapons and protective equipment. Uluburun was also carrying enough copper to melt 11 tons of bronze.