Exciting Finds and Findings

Honor originally hypothesised that they were dealing with the hull of a military vessel, and was therefore surprised not to find any armaments other than a single knife blade.

Pottery recovered from the site included a mixed assortment of amphoras, the two-handled containers typically used to carry wine or other foodstuffs. Jars, cooking pots, fineware and beakers were discovered in an area identified as the “kitchen”, as confirmed by fragments of two or three roof tiles.

Animal bones, including remains of ox, sheep/goat, fallow deer, pig and horse, give an indication of the crew’s diet. Two bones likely belonged to a dog, found near the central “kitchen” area of the site -- perhaps the ship’s mascot.

Fragile organic materials found at the site included nut shells, olive stones, twigs, leaves and other compacted vegetable matter, as well as large quantities of string and rope made of esparto grass.

In 1974 during the final season of excavation, the sand-bank that had covered the ‘Sister Ship’ shifted, exposing many of the timbers. Team member John Wood surveyed the remains and Honor documented the framework of a ram-like forward projection at the bow.