Hundreds of intact ancient amphorae have been found on the seabed off the coast of Israel, a government authority said on Thursday, describing it as a "groundbreaking discovery."
The approximately 3,300 to 3,400-year-old storage vessels were on board a ship, the Israel Antiquities Authority said.
Two containers that were recently recovered were used to store oil, wine and fruit and date back to the late Bronze Age and belonged to the Canaanites, who preceded the Israelites in the region that covered modern-day Israel, Lebanon and parts of Jordan and Syria.
The large number of amphorae on board a single ship proves the important trade relations with the ancient Near Eastern countries on the Mediterranean coast, according to the director of the Department of Maritime Archaeology, Jacob Sharvit.
Never before has a ship from this period been found in the deep sea, according to a statement from the Israel Antiquities Authority.
It sank 90 kilometres from the shore, possibly due to a storm or a pirate attack.
Only two shipwrecks with cargo from the late Bronze Age have been discovered so far, both off the Turkish coast, but close to the shore.
The discovery also shows seafarers at the time were able to cross the sea without being able to see the coast, the authority said. "This discovery reveals the navigational skills of ancient seafarers like never before," said Sharvit, adding they likely navigated by the sun and stars.
British-Greek gas extraction company Energean carried out a standard investigation of the seabed around a year ago and discovered an accumulation of jars at a depth of 1.8 kilometres, according to the Antiquities Authority.
Two jars were recovered around a fortnight ago after months of planning and the development of specialist equipment, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
The amphorae are to be put on display this summer, the Antiquities Authority said. It was not clear whether the rest of the cargo and possible remains of the ship would also be recovered.