Dead Rats Found in Shipwreck Provide Clues to Their Voyages 1,400 Years Ago
Rat skeletons found in the ancient wreck of a freighter that sank off the coast of Israel are providing new historical insights.
The skeletons of dead rats in the sunken ship Ma’gan Mikhael B, between 648 and 740 AD, have helped to learn more about the life of the ship that sailed the Mediterranean.
The remains are the oldest and only direct evidence of a rat infestation in an ancient shipwreck in the Mediterranean.
The remains are from black rats, a species that traveled with traders to the Middle East from South Asia and India more than 2,000 years ago.
If it is confirmed that some of these rats were as far away as the central Mediterranean islands, it means that there was much more communication, shipping, exchange and trade in this period, more than just army and sea battles.
A variety of artifacts discovered on the sunken ship have helped round out life aboard the ancient merchant ship.
The 82-foot-long ship had a cargo of turkey nuts and gravy made from fish from the Sea of Galilee.
The study also provides clues about the ship’s crew, with Christian crosses, Muslim blessings, and Greek and Arabic letters carved into the walls.
When the ship sank off the coast of Israel, she immediately covered herself with up to two meters of sand, which helped preserve her secrets.
The study is being led by an international team of researchers from the University of Liverpool and Haifa.
👩🎓 Sierra Harding, PhD candidate, reporting from the ICAS-EMME 3 in Nicosia:https://t.co/fCdl8UVVlF pic.twitter.com/NBIXWZth0T
— The Haifa Center for Mediterranean History (HCMH) (@HCMH_haifa) March 24, 2022
