Discovered the 8,000-year shipyard ruins submerged under the seabed

Archaeologists found a Stone Age wooden platform with meticulously treated wooden bars in British waters.

The Maritime Archaeological Trust found a wooden platform consisting of 60-70 wooden bars assembled into layers in the waters near the town of Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, England, Telegraph reported on August 20. This may be the ruins of the world's oldest shipyard , existed about 8,000 years ago, during the Middle Stone Age. The team determined the age of wood by means of age determination with carbon isotopes and tree rings.

Picture 1 of Discovered the 8,000-year shipyard ruins submerged under the seabed
Archaeologists found wooden floors at a depth of 11m under the sea.(Photo: BBC).

In the 1990s, local fishermen pulled up many wooden boards in the waters near Yarmouth. Scientists also discovered some hard stones that ancient humans could use as tools. At that time, archaeologists began to suspect that Stone Age works were here. The expeditions with modern equipment later helped confirm that.

The wooden slats were cut according to advanced techniques, demonstrating the skillful carpentry skills of Middle Stone people. Previously, the scientific community said that this technique of wood processing only appeared after the Neolithic period, ie about 4500 BC.

Picture 2 of Discovered the 8,000-year shipyard ruins submerged under the seabed
The wooden slats used to build the Stone Age shipyard.(Photo: Telegraph).

Archaeologists know that boats are widely used during the Stone Age through cave paintings and goods exchanged via waterways. They found the oldest ship in a swamp in the Netherlands, dating back 10,000 years. However, there is little evidence of the existence of a shipyard in such an ancient period.

The newly discovered ancient boat workshop is located at a depth of 11m under the sea. The Maritime Archaeological Trust research team commented, this is the most intact timepiece in the Middle Stone Age found in England. In this period, this place was a valley and the Isle of Wight remained connected to the mainland.

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