Black Assarca Island shipwreck: Byzantine-Aksumite era maritime disaster

[Emir of Zayla]

In 1995, a group of marine tourists diving off Eritrea’s coast stumbled upon an interesting find dating back to a period between the 6th and 7th centuries AD. The ancient ship had been carrying amphora vessels from the Byzantine Empire to one of the ports of the Aksumite Empire, before it ran afoul at one of the nearby Islands known as Black Assarca.

• The origins of the vessels have been traced back to Ayla also known as Aqaba in modern Jordan where ancient kilns to manufacture the exact same vessels have been found.
• It’s one of the oldest shipwreck from the Red Sea excavated so far.
• If the dating is correct, this seaborne enterprise would be right before the rise of Islam, and occur in the twilight years of Aksum as a regional power with a maritime component.
• Similar vessels have been found during excavations in the Horn, Yemen, Turkey and Egypt, which indicates that they were an important if not common item to transport goods with.

Sources: https://www.academia.edu/926814/Under_the_Erythraean_Sea_An_Ancient_Shipwreck_in_Eritrea

https://www.researchgate.net/public...iod_shipwreck_at_Black_Assarca_Island_Eritrea

https://nauticalarch.org/projects/aksumite-period-shipwreck-excavation/