16th International Symposium on Boat & Ship Archaeology

33 Zadar, Croatia | 26 September – 1 October 2021 Maayan Cohen & Deborah Cvikel Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies and Department of Maritime Civilizations, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel New Insights into the Maʻagan Mikhael B Shipwreck, Israel The Maʻagan Mikhael B shipwreck found off the Mediterranean coast of Israel and dated to the mid-7 th –mid-8 th centuries CE, has so far been excavated for six seasons, from 2016 to 2019, by the Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies at the University of Haifa. Its remains are 19.6 m long from bow to stern, and its maximum width is 4.9 m. Among the well-preserved wooden hull components found to date are the keel, endposts, aprons, sternson, framing timbers, hull planks, central longitudinal timbers, stringers, bulkheads and a mast-step assembly. The ship was built to a high standard, as shown by the expertise evident in design, selection of wood species, construction and details of the carpentry. This is confirmed by the remains of the sail, which is made of high-quality sheep’s wool. The most significant find is a hook-shaped masthead with sheaves, which is characteristic of lateen-rigged vessels. It is unique, being the only known example of this type of fitting of its period found in context. The organic finds and fired clay bricks found on board reveal a sailing route that included Egypt, Israel, Turkey and Cyprus. It appears that the Ma‘agan Mikhael B was a 23 m-long lateen-rigged mer- chantman, with a beam of 6.9 m and a displacement of 120 tons at a draught of 1.7 m. Based on its construction details – no planking edge-fasteners of any type, and planks butt-jointed at frame stations to form strakes – it is suggested that the ship was built to a ‘frame-based’ concept. The hull remains constitute firm evidence that the transition in ship construction was complete in the eastern Mediterranean in the second half of the 1 st millennium CE.