More finds from Bronze Age ship.More finds from Bronze Age Bronze Age, period in the development of technology when metals were first used regularly in the manufacture of tools and weapons. Pure copper and bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, were used indiscriminately at first; this early period is sometimes called the ship A Bronze Age shipwreck shipwreck, complete or partial destruction of a vessel as a result of collision, fire, grounding, storm, explosion, or other mishap. In the ancient world sea travel was hazardous, but in modern times the number of shipwrecks due to nonhostile causes has steadily discovered off a rocky cape in southern Turkey more than four years ago (SN: 12/8/84, p. 359) continues to yield important artifacts artifacts see specimen artifacts. . The trading vessel, probably of the Canaanite culture, sank around 1600 B.C. Last summer's expedition to the oldest known shipwreck uncovered two new types of copper ingots, once used to shape bronze tools and weapons, says expedition codirector George F. Bass of Texas A&M University in College Station. One of the ingot ingot Mass of metal cast into a size and shape such as a bar, plate, or sheet convenient to store, transport, and work into a semifinished or finished product. The term also refers to a mold in which metal is so cast. styles, with two handles, is portrayed in ancient Egyptian wall paintings of metal working, Bass notes. The other ingot is shaped like a dog biscuit and does not resemble any other Bronze Age ingots found in the Mediterranean. Other finds last summer include: an ivory wand, slightly larger than a pencil, the purpose of which is unknown; two scarabs apparently from northern Syria; a gold pendant the size of a man's hand; and a cache of Syrian pottery. A form of resin previously found in jars on the ship was probably imported from Syria to Egypt for use as incense incense, perfume diffused by the burning of aromatic gums or spices. Incense was used in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome and is mentioned in the Old and the New Testaments. It is also found in the major religions of Asia. in religious rituals, Bass says. |
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