Antalya, at the heart of the Turkish Riviera, has been a favorite destination of past civilizations thriving on maritime trade. Recent discoveries off the coast of the southern Turkish province show there is more to its heritage than already explored.

Underwater archaeologists found 14 shipwrecks this summer alone. Professor Hakan Öniz from Akdeniz University says the number of shipwrecks found off Antalya since 2000 now exceeds 350.

Öniz, who also chairs the underwater cultural heritage department of a research institute, is among the archaeologists working on Akdeniz University's "Arkeo" scientific exploration vessel, which sails between Antalya and the Mediterranean province of Mersin exploring the seas. The explorers are a diverse bunch, from academics to postgraduate students hailing from Türkiye and 13 other countries, from Sweden and the United States to Mozambique and Poland. They tap into the latest technology for underwater imaging and detection when exploring the waters. Three underwater robots also help them scan the bottom of the sea, up to a depth of 250 meters (820 feet), reaching spots inaccessible to divers.

Öniz told Anadolu Agency (AA) in a recent interview that this summer, they found shipwrecks dating back to the seventh century B.C. and the 12th century A.D. "Most of them are loaded with amphoras (a type of jug) and these amphoras were used to transport goods, from olive oil to fish sauce to wine. Our work proved that the Mediterranean coast was a busy route between those centuries as a trade route," he said.

Through one discovery, the team established that there were brick workshops in Antalya during the ancient ages that sold their goods to other Mediterranean cities, transporting the products by sea. Öniz said one interesting find was that on two of the shipwrecks, the bricks and plates were found perfectly intact. "They were standing there in exactly the same way porters stacked them some 2,000 years ago," he noted.

He said they also discovered anchors from the Bronze Age, which indicates that the Mediterranean coast was home to maritime trade as far back as 5,000 years ago and that the Turkish coast was also used for military and defense purposes.