Five thousand years of maritme activity have left numerous remnants of shipwrecks and cargos, shiping gear and naval warfare. Because of the physical characteristics of the Israeli Mediterranean coastline (lack of natural shelters and unexpected storms), many ships were wrecked and washed ashore.  Hence, most of the shipwrecks are concentrated close to the shoreline.

The shipwrecks, which are found in the region, can be classified as follows:

C.1. Remains of a wooden hull and cargo:  such wrecks are usually found in sheltered areas that are protected by submerged or partly submerged Kurkar ridges (Caesarea north anchorage, Ma’agan Mikhael anchorage, Dor anchorage and Acre anchorage). Some of these ships were wrecked while anchoring and waiting for favorable winds. 

C.2. Assemblage of vessel lacking wooden hull: this is the most common kind of shipwreck along the Israeli coast. These assemblages are usually found in open and unprotected coasts, some 70-150 m. offshore, in the breaker zone at water depths of 2-5 m. Most of these ships were wrecked during winter storms.

C.3. Concentration of ballast stones: usually piles of foreign stones, surrounded by scattered artifacts, nails, ship’s fittings and anchors.

C.4. Single isolated artifact originating from a ship: artifacts that were intentionally or unintentionally dumped into the sea by the ancient mariners. These artifacts cannot be associated with a wreckage event or to a particular archaeological assemblage.

C.5. Scattered pottery vessels in deep water (25-45m): most of these vessels are found whole, some of them were probably dumped by the mariners after consuming the contents, or jettisoned in cases of emergency, while others may have originated from wrecked vessels that were scattered on the sea bottom by modern trawling activities.