Dead rats found on an ancient shipwreck provide clues to its voyages 1,400 years ago, says archaeologist

Business Insider

A black rat, also known as a ship rat, next to the Ma'gan Michael B shipArterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images (L), R. Levinson (R)

Scientists from the University of Haifa are studying the wreck of a ship.
The bodies of dead rats on the ship give researchers clues as to where the ship came from.
The ship's carvings show who may have worked on it over 1,400 years ago.

Researchers from the University of Haifa say that the skeletons of rats found on the wreck of a cargo ship that sank off the coast of Israel provide valuable new historical insights.

The team learned more about the life of the Ma&gan Mikhael B by studying the skeletons of dead rats on the ship.

According to Sierra, the remains are the oldest evidence of a ship rat outbreak in the Mediterranean.

Remains of rats found aboard the Ma'gan Michael B shipA. Efremov

Black rats were a species that traveled to the Middle East from South Asia and India more than 2,000 years ago.

Preliminary findings show that the rats could have come from Tunisia or Corsica in the central Mediterranean.

If it is confirmed that some of these rats were from as far away as the central Mediterranean islands, it means that there was a lot more communication, shipping, exchange, and trade happening during this period.

Clues to the ship's diverse crew

An impressive array of preserved artifacts discovered on the sunken ship has helped fill in the picture of life aboard the ancient trading vessel.

A 2020 preliminary report from the University of Haifa team found the largest maritime cargo of Byzantine and Early Islamic ceramics discovered along the Israeli coast.

The study provides clues to the diversity of the crew, with Christian crosses, Muslim blessings, and Greek and Arabic letters carved into the walls.

The crew made it to the shore when the ship ran aground a short distance from the coast.

An aerial view of the excavation on the Ma'gan Michael B shipR. Levinson

The ship was covered with seven feet of sand when it sank off the coast of Israel.

The study is being led by an international team of researchers.

The original article is on Business Insider.

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