Shipwrecks from Alexander era

Divers have recently been investigation the seabed off the coast of Lebanon, more precisely just south of Tyre, the city Alexander besieged in 332 BC.

So far, eleven shipwrecks were explored, and they yielded a wide array of broken pottery and piles of stones.

[Picture from Archaeology News Network]

Credit: Lebanon Divers Syndicate, HO

Although archaeologists recognize the link of these wrecks with Alexander, they don’t seem to agree on the role these ships played in the actual siege of Tyre. The remains have been found some 700 meters from the beach.

The stones were probably lost on their route to the causeway Alexander was building to link the fortified island of Tyre to the old city on the mainland. The ships may have sunk during severe storms or simply because they were overloaded. Piles of such stones were found 50 to 200 meters apart.

As to the pots, it has been suggested that they all broke after a violent collision of the ships since none were recovered intact. A close study of these shards indicates that they are probably from Greek origin.

The link of these shipwrecks to Alexander is solely based on historical events, as the construction of the breakwater radically changed the landscape and the seascape around Tyre. We’ll have to await more archaeological study to be entirely sure.