Talk:Orca Shipwreck

Orca?
Why orca? Where was the ship called by that name? "Karish" is more appropriate here הסטודנט החופשי (talk) 01:27, 23 June 2024 (UTC)


 * Hi
 * The name Orca was chosen as it appears in the article in "Haartz" (my mistake forgot to add it as a source) which was the first place i read about the find. Here is the quote from the article: "While scanning the seabed ahead of developing Israel's Orca natural gas field, Energean observed an anomaly that would change our understanding of ancient navigation skills" Owenglyndur (talk) 06:41, 23 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Energean were surveying for the future Katlan field (not the existing Karish one). "Katlan"="orca".

Speculation
If Google's translation of their article is at all accurate, it seems that the IAA are speculating somewhat, particularly here: "According to Yaakov Sharvit, director of the Maritime Archeology Unit at the Antiquities Authority, "It seems that the ship was wrecked as a result of a distress encountered in a sea storm, or perhaps in the event of an encounter with pirates - a phenomenon known from the Bronze Age. This is the first and earliest shipwreck discovered to date in the deep sea in the eastern Mediterranean, At a distance of about 90 km from the coast line. This is a world-class sensation: the discovery shows the impressive navigational abilities of the ancients - the kind that made it possible to cross the Mediterranean Sea without any eye contact with the shore - since from this distance you can only see the horizon line around. Most likely, the navigation was done using the heavenly bodies - with the help of calculating the angles of the sun and the stars." That article is rather publicity-seeking in tone. I have not yet found any scholarly presentation, nor any commentary by expert sources independent of the IAA. - Davidships (talk) 17:24, 24 June 2024 (UTC)


 * Hi, the IAA were the only ones who had done research on this shipwreck, therefore they are the only ones who can present the facts they found. Owenglyndur (talk) 13:35, 25 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Indeed that's probably right at present, but they don't only present facts. The only facts that the IAA present are the finding of remains of a wreck 90km from the coast, which on examination consist of a cargo of pots, which have been dated; based on that, they have also estimated the size of the ship and its cargo. Unless IAA have additional material about which they have been totally silent, the rest is speculation. Haaretz quotes the IAA as saying "Either it was very lost or the ancients had navigational skills we weren't aware of", but they don't even admit to the former possiblity in their own article. We should therefore present this cautiously. In due course some better quality sources will emerge. - Davidships (talk) 20:21, 27 June 2024 (UTC)